Aeternitas
by wanderingassassin
Summary: AU 1x2. Duo Maxwell is a vampire, Heero Yuy isn’t, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not important. This is the story of two reunited childhood friends in their final years of highschool, facing hormones, hunters and all that good stuff.
1. Chapter One

**Category: **Urm…Gundam Wing fic, centralized around Heero and Duo (glomps Heero) 1x2! There may be some 3x4 and others later, but that will be decided in due time.  
**Rating: **At present, PG-13 will do, although it may be upped later since I'm planning to put some violence and tragedy and all that other good stuff into it. Oh yea, and this is a slash, so don't read if you don't like  
**Disclaimer: **Gundam Wing is owned by…somebody…I believe it is Bandai and Sunrise. Oh well, whoever, just not me. I don't even own a Heero plushie! So if you want to please me, buy me one, but then again, I'm scared it will come out all distorted as plushies tend to be…  
**Spoilers:** This is an AU, do you think there will be spoilers? Apart from the fact that now everybody knows that Duo Maxwell has a braid and Heero has an emotion (or lack there of) complex, and if you don't…well, sorry, but I just spoiled the characters' appearance for you.  
**Progress: **1 of Something. I'm not quite sure how long this will go for, but I promise you it won't go beyond two digits (I am not nearly that dedicated to any one story, nor do I have the abilities to write something that will have people coming back and reading beyond a few chapters)  
**General Notes: **Okay, this story is dedicated to Bob (refer to dedications). She wanted a story with a cute Heero inside, so I wrote her a story with a cute Heero inside. Although I don't think the Heero came out quite cute enough, which has been the source of my displeasure all day while at school, pondering about this fledging story of mine that was previously sitting on my table in the form of a stack of jumbled notes, since my laptop had been confiscated the previous day and was supposed to remain confiscated for three months (I got it back the following day, i.e. today). In any case, this story was supposed to just be one of those feel good stories with a cute (and possibly nerdy) Heero and a nice Duo and a fluffy storyline. Unfortunately, I got a little carried away with my random planning and decided to add vampires into this fic, hence resulting in the production of eventual angst and tragedy. So, new goal is to write a story with a adorable (and possibly nerdy) Heero and a nice (and very vampiric) Duo and incorporate all possible genres into it, or at least, as many as I possibly can before this story takes a plunge for the worst (supposing it doesn't suck already)  
**Random Other Notes:** Um…first and foremost, Heero is adorable, and I will shoot you if you say otherwise. Even if he is trigger happy and trying to kill everybody, Heero is still adorable. Um…yea...I have nothing else to say…oh yea! Assassin likes coffee, and I'll kiss you if you can find a way to cure my allergy to the stuff.  
**More Random Notes: **This is my first Gundam Wing fan fic, and also my first attempt at slash. I do hope you will all enjoy it, and please review when you're done. I would appreciate any comments of flames or criticism or greetings or whatever else you may want to put in your review, just don't try to cyber-pinch my cheeks.  
**Thanks to:** Bob, for the request and encouragement and random squealing during free sessions in the cafeteria; Mi-chan, for her beta-ing, if that is a word, and her encouragement; Kitty, for her would-be encouragement (reminder to you all, Assassin's cheeks are off limits, OFF LIMITS I SAY! Nobody pinches them!); Overlord for her question about how I could write a fanfic on Gundam Wing without actually watching the series (Because I'm talented damnit!)  
**Music: **In comes my massive list: My Heart Will Go On – perform by none other than my eight year old brother; American Idiot – Green Day, Scarborough Fair – Sung by some random lady; the Sacred Moon – Tsukihime OST; Salva Nos – Noir OST; Wind – Naruto second ending (nice song, horrible lyrics); Life is like a boat – Rie Fu; Life Goes On – Gundam Seed Destiny second ending theme; Lilium – Elfen Lied OST; Bomb a Head – Tenjou Tenge opening  
**Dedications: **Bob AKA Wan Wingu no Tenshi AKA MH the short! You are cute and glompable!  
**Genre: **Romance, drama, supernatural, angst, tragedy, action/adventure  
**Summary: **AU, OOC-ness. Duo Maxwell is a vampire, Heero Yuy isn't, but that's hardly important. This is the story about the two childhood friends and the things that happen to them during their final years of high school.

* * *

**Aeternitas**

Written by Wandering Assassin (AKA Fishie)

Chapter One

There are four main groups on the planet Earth: the demons known as Vampires, who are well known for their habit of drinking blood, but nothing else; the faction that tries hard to destroy them, known as Sacreds, who are under the impression that all vampires are evil; the large majority of people who remain completely oblivious to the presence of both vampires and Sacreds, and finally the small group of people who know about the said creatures and their hunters and spends their life being wary and going around carrying holy water with them in small bottles attached to their belts, just in case some random vampire decided to take a sip of their blood.

Unfortunately, Heero Yuy made the non-existent (or at least, previously non-existent) fifth category: the person who knew about vampires and Sacreds and took it as easily as one would the notion that it may rain during spring. Perhaps that was an exaggeration, for the teenage boy did react when his friend Duo informed him about the whole creatures-who-drank-blood-and-did-not-reside-in-swamps thing, but it had been such a mild "really?" that the violet-eyed American became convinced that his companion had not heard him correctly.

'Heero.' Duo tried again, staring pointedly at the Japanese boy with a small frown on his face. 'Vampires are real.'

'You told me.' Heero responded, his eyes fixed on the small slab of green jelly that was sitting on a small plate in the corner of his lunch tray. He frowned slightly when he jabbed it with his fork and set the blob in motion for a short while before it settled down again. Clearly, he was uncertain about the edibility the mixture of food coloring, flavoring and gelatin was. He prodded it again, blue eyes narrowing as he watched it jiggled yet again, scowled, then pushed the plate off his tray. 'Refrain from eating the jelly Duo, it is far too artificial and the bounce is off.'

'The bounce…?' Duo spluttered weakly, a hopeless look overtaking his face as he stared at his friend sitting across the unhygienic cafeteria table. 'Heero, are you paying attention at all? What I'm telling you is important.'

'I understand Duo, and I have been listening.' Heero looked up from the abandoned jelly and fixed Duo with a firm stare. 'You said there are vampires and people who chase and kill vampires. You also said that there are many different types of vampires, some of which do not require blood as a staple diet. You also insisted that vampires are just like normal people, except that they require fresh blood once in a while. I do not think I am missing anything.'

'Um…' Duo faltered slightly, unsure what to say. He was sure that even somebody as Heero Yuy, the boy with a chronic unable-to-properly-display-emotions complex would react more to being told something like this. But he had listened to every word, accepted them, and went on examining the rest of his cafeteria lunch as if nothing was wrong. 'So you were listening?' Duo finished lamely, a hesitant smile crawling across his face.

'Hn.' Heero went back to examining his lunch, this time focusing his scrutiny on an apple. With a small (and previously washed and sterilized) pocketknife, he sliced the apple in half, stared at the pale fruit inside, sniffed it, then offered a half to Duo. The braided boy accepted the apple and Heero took to examining yet another item on his lunch tray. Duo sighed.

Heero Yuy had been Duo Maxwell's friend since they were both old enough to play in a sand box and not purposefully eat the sand. Even when he was young, Heero had been the serious kid of few words with an emotional problem. Duo could still remember (albeit the memory had become more and more vague over the years) the first time they met. Heero's father had brought him to the local park, and told him to play with the other children. The little Heero had nodded and walked over to the playground and put himself in a swing. Duo, who had been building a castle in the sandbox, had rushed over when he saw a vacant swing, but paused when he saw Heero clamber into it. The Japanese boy had given him a look that was definitely too serious for anybody under sixteen years of age, let alone a four-year-old boy. Duo had pouted and said he wanted to play with the swing. Heero had jumped off immediately and let Duo play with it, and when the violet-eyed boy had muttered his inability to swing by himself, Heero had pushed him. The Japanese boy had continued pushing Duo until the braided boy got off and let Heero play with the swing. Heero had then shown Duo how to swing by himself, and the violet-eyed boy was ecstatic. The two quickly became friends, although Heero remained the person who pushed Duo even after the amethyst-eyed boy had learnt how to swing solo.

Duo's parents died when he was eight. A truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and collided with his parents' car, throwing them off the road and into a nearby tree. His father had died upon impact, and his mother went into a coma for a week before being declared dead. Duo had cried and went into a temperamental rage, and would not speak to anybody properly for a week while his uncle Howard resumed the position as Duo's guardian. Heero held him the entire time, and took the week off school to comfort Duo and keep him company. Duo moved away with Howard shortly after that. Heero had chased after their car while Duo cried and stuck his head out the window, waving at his best friend until they rounded a corner and Heero had fallen behind. It was the first and last time Duo had seen Heero cry.

Recently however, Howard had been promoted to a spot in a different city, and Duo had found himself moving again. The local school was a place called Laconia (1) High, where the teachers were Spartans and enforced rules like the military. The food was also exceptionally fitting of the role, and the fact that uniform was compulsory drove Duo up the wall. But surprisingly, Heero turned out to be a fellow student as Duo was overjoyed to discover. He had been stunned when he first ran into Heero at the General Office. He was rendered completely speechless when he saw the other boy, and was uncertain for the longest time whether to call out his name or not. Heero Yuy at sixteen years of age, was the very definition of the word handsome, and Duo meant that in the most literal sense, because he was not attracted to males, although the back of his brain had been very desperately insisting that it would make an exception from straightness for this one person. Six foot tall one, intense cobalt-blue eyes, messy chocolate brown hair and a sinewy build, Heero's appearance simply radiated perfection in the flesh. Unfortunately, Perfection had not yet noticed him as he had fixed the receptionist with a glare and was demanding for a Student I.D. form so he could submit for a new I.D. card. Duo, in his cowardice, had remained behind Heero (or who he assumed was Heero) in line, and waited for the boy to finish his business with the receptionist. The lady handed Heero a form and the boy moved slightly to the left of the window, allowing the next person in line to proceed with their own inquires.

Duo had then handed in his form of transfer and declared his name. The boy on his left paused in his writing, and slowly met his gaze. The strange creatures that had been feeding on his innards suddenly disappeared, and Duo wondered how he could have ever doubted that it was Heero Yuy. The receptionist cleared her throat and gave Duo his locker number and a stern reminder to wear his uniform in future. The violet-eyed boy nodded distractedly, accepted the slip of paper and sidled away from the window. Heero tore his gaze away momentarily to hurriedly finish filling out the form, shoved it onto the receptionist's desk with a lot more force than was necessary, and rushed after Duo.

Duo, who had been dawdling in the main lobby of the school turned and greeted Heero when he approached. The Prussian-blue eyes stared, all emotions kept carefully at bay. Heero gave a nod of acknowledgement, and spoke Duo's name in that deep, nasal voice of his. They both stared at each other, each sizing the other up and comparing them to the younger version of eight years prior. Duo was ecstatic, thought he did not show it save the growing smile on his face. Heero remained blank for a moment longer, his blue eyes calculating as they swept over Duo's person.

Then he smiled.

Even though Duo had been best friends with Heero in the past, the braided boy could still count the number of times he had seen his friend smile on his left hand alone and still have fingers to spare. In Heero terms, a smile was close to the ultimate display of emotion without contact. Duo could remember him laughing once, and of course, crying that once. And here he was, Heero Yuy, Japanese, sixteen years of age, smiling wider than Duo had ever seen him and accounting for the fourth time Duo had ever seen him smile. I genuine Heero smile was about as rare as a leap year, though not nearly as predictable. So Duo could not help himself when he smothered the Japanese boy in a hug.

Hugging Heero as a teen was a very different experience from hugging Heero as a child. The Japanese boy had never been particularly fond of hugs in the past, though he gradually made an exception for Duo. The first time Duo had hugged Heero, the other boy had gone stiff in his arms. The second time had not been any better, and it was not until about the twentieth time did he start reacting to it. By about the fortieth time, he was hugging Duo back. Duo could remember that one particularly well. His pet cat had just died after suffering from some terrible disease or another, and the vet had to put the poor thing down. When he returned home to find Heero sitting on his front porch, waiting for him, he had lunged at the other boy and clung onto him while he cried into the other boy's shirt. Heero hugged him back, although rather hesitantly, as if unsure if that was the action he was supposed to assume. Duo cried and only clung onto him tighter, and Heero held him tightly, more to keep him from shaking too badly than anything else. Afterwards, Heero had taken Duo to the park, and let the distraught boy sit on the swing while he pushed. When Duo finally got tired of swinging and told Heero to stop, the boy had stilled the swing and hugged him from behind, whispering comforting words into his hair all the while.

In any case, having hugged Heero at least a good few hundred or so times as a child, Duo could tell the difference in the gesture immediately this time. Back when they were younger, Duo had been the shorter of the two, and Heero had been a lot thinner. Heero was still thin, even now, but it was a healthy kind of thin. Duo could tell instantly that Heero was very fit, and exercised frequently. They were both of similar height, although Heero was much broader around the shoulders, and the arms that wrapped around him were as strong as he remembered.

They both let go at length after realizing just how many students were starting to stare at them. Heero took the slip of paper off Duo, announced that their lockers were very close to each other and took to showing the braided boy where they were. During the entire time while Heero led him around the school, Duo talked and talked, informing Heero of the key events which have occurred during the last eight years they spent apart from each other. When he had finished explaining a few of the main events, Heero took to explaining just why he was so far from their original home. Apparently, his mother who was a renowned brain surgeon, had been transferred over to the hospital nearby here, which was far larger than back in their home town. His father, who was a lawyer, had only been happy to follow his wife to a larger city and landed himself at a large law firm before they moved. Heero himself had had no qualms about moving, save that his chances of ever meeting Duo again seemed to grow more remote with the relocation. Never did it occur to him that Duo would end up transferring to the same school as he.

And now they sat together in the cafeteria, a good two weeks after Duo had transferred, having school lunch (or in Heero's case, inspecting it) while Duo attempted to tell Heero about the vampires. The blue-eyed boy had just passed the pasta, albeit very reluctantly, and was now reading the nutritional information on the back of his milk bottle. Duo wondered dully whether he should cushion the words he was about to say, but Heero was hardly affected by anything, so maybe he should just say it. Besides, it might be worth it if he got some reaction out of the other boy. Heero was just in the process of draining his bottle of milk when Duo spoke again, his voice hushed and nervous.

'Heero…I am a vampire.'

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**Footnotes:**

(1) Laconia was a region in ancient Greece that was dominated by Sparta, hence the reason why I decided to make the teachers Spartan. I know, lame pun, but hey, at least give me the credit for finding the word.

The title Aeternitas is Latin for eternity/immortality. There really isn't any deep meaning to the word or why I used it, save that I was listening to Lilium and decided that I'll go for a Latin title, since anything Latin looks better than any lousy English sentence/phrase that I can ever come up with for use as a title.

In any case, I hope you all enjoyed that, and please review!

Assassin


	2. Chapter Two

**Category: **Urm…Gundam Wing fic, centralized around Heero and Duo (glomps Heero) 1x2! There may be some 3x4 and others later, but that will be decided in due time.  
**Rating: **At present, PG-13 will do, although it may be upped later since I'm planning to put some violence and tragedy and all that other good stuff into it. Oh yea, and this is a slash, so don't read if you don't like  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Gundam Wing, well, I own a copy of the anime, but Bob tells me that's not enough...sigh.  
**Spoilers:** This is an AU, do you think there will be spoilers? Apart from the fact that now everybody knows that Duo Maxwell has a braid and Heero has an emotion (or lack there of) complex, and if you don't…well, sorry, but I just spoiled the characters' appearance for you.  
**Progress: **2 of something with two digits, but I can't use the slash or the question marks in succession because the damn uploading sequence eats it away...  
**General Notes: **It has been a while since I last updated, and I apologize for that. As I said in the other fic that I updated today, I have been busy with a number of things, and I only just did another German SAC today. It sucks, and my essay was stupid and ill-organized, and I just know my teacher would return it covered in red ink. Nonetheless, here is the second chapter of Aeternitas. And you know the drill people! Read and review!  
**Music: **Sweet Home Alabama - somebody; Breathe - Prodigy; Akatsuki no Kuruma - Junction Yuuka; Spirits Within - sombody; I Don't Know You Anymore - Savage Garden; Struggling for Pleasure - Wim Mertins; Shut Up - Simple Plan  
**Dedications: **Bob AKA Wan Wingu no Tenshi AKA MH the short! You are cute and glompable!  
**Genre: **Romance, drama, supernatural, angst, tragedy, action/adventure insert whatever else I am missing   
**Summary: **AU, OOC-ness. Duo Maxwell is a vampire, Heero Yuy isn't, but that's hardly important. This is the story about the two childhood friends and the things that happen to them during their final years of high school.

* * *

**Aeternitas**

Written by Wandering Assassin (AKA Fishie)

Chapter Two

'Heero…I am a vampire.'

There was the sound of chair legs scraping against tiled cafeteria floor, then a loud crash as that same chair fell, along with its occupant. Duo stood up quickly, leaning over the unsanitary cafeteria table to see Heero lying in a heap on the ground, bottle of milk still clutched in his hands though with none of its original contents. Heero grumbled something incoherent from the floor before getting up slowly and straightening the chair before sitting down again, milk bottle still in hand.

Okay, so perhaps that was a bit too much reaction.

Duo sat down again slowly, eyes roaming over Heero's face, searching for clues as to what the other boy was thinking. He had that evil impassive mask on again, the one that the young Heero used to always put on whenever he was unsure of things. It seemed like old habits died hard, but Duo thought that Heero would have dropped that old habit already. True, he was still an emotion-deprived, overly serious kid who had a tendency to be particularly obsessive-compulsive when it came to hygiene, food and his studies, but the impassive mask was just plain irritating. It was then that he realized that the entire cafeteria was in silence, and practically everybody was staring at them, and it was not the good type of stare either. He was just beginning to feel the onset of the type of discomfort that had him squirming when Heero chose to turn and force a very powerful glare at everybody around. The fellow students and teachers-on-duty, as well as cafeteria cooks visibly shuddered as one and turned their gaze away, suddenly very intent with whatever happened to be closest to them, whether it was a person or dodgy, cafeteria jelly. It was amazing what his childhood friend could do, even with milk dripping from his hair and the front of his shirt see-through.

'Are you okay Heero?' Duo asked. It was a stupid question, but a default. The blue-eyed boy stared at him before dropping some of the impassiveness, and shooting a look which stated clearly "why would I not be?" Duo snorted. 'You've got milk in your hair Heero.'

'Hn.'

Duo sighed. Well, the over-reaction was good while it lasted.

'So…um…Heero?' He asked slowly, not wishing to see Heero end up on the floor again. 'Returning back to our original topic.'

'You are a vampire.' The Japanese boy stated firmly. Duo nodded. Heero stared, nodded once, then went to attacking his pasta with a spork, obviously searching for signs of contamination that might have occurred within the last thirty seconds when he was on the floor. Duo frowned.

'And you're okay with it?' Duo asked, trying desperately to keep his voice relatively neutral, although he was having trouble trying to balance the hope and the incredulity. Heero nodded once, frowned at his pasta and brought a bit of the stuff into his mouth. He chewed for a moment, a look of obvious displeasure on his face, swallowed then went back to attacking the pasta, obviously not satisfied with the taste and certain that there was something wrong with it, only he did not know what. Duo sighed, head straying dangerously close to the cafeteria table. If this was anywhere but the school canteen, then he would have smashed his forehead into the table several times. Unfortunately, he wanted to vent his frustration, and not kill himself through all the random colonies of bacteria currently living happily on the tabletop.

'Heero.' He was whining, and he knew it. It was not his fault that Heero was being so impossible, not that Heero was ever anything but. Duo secretly wondered if he could convince Heero that there were black holes under people's beds and that the Earth was flat. Considering how easily he believed Duo's vampire story, it would not be too difficult. 'Aren't you afraid that I'll drink your blood?'

'If blood is a vital component of your daily requirements, then I would give you my blood. If you need anymore, I could ask my mother to get us a permit into the blood bank.' Heero looked up quickly. 'But you do eat normal food do you not?'

'Yea…' Duo replied, though his mind was off somewhere else, remembering what Heero just said about giving him his blood. Of course, Duo would do no such thing! He did not even need to drink blood to survive, but even if he did, he would not take Heero's. The Japanese boy was a friend, and drinking a friend's blood is unacceptable, not that drinking anybody's blood was particularly acceptable behavior anyway.

'Then eat your pasta.' Heero jabbed a spork in the direction of Duo's pasta. 'It tastes horrible, and I am certain this stuff is more dust than anything else, but it will keep you full and going until home time.'

'I don't want the pasta…' Duo grumbled, eyeing the main course distastefully. 'It looks…grotty.'

'It serves its purpose.' Heero replied expressionlessly. 'Eat it.'

'Fine.' The braided boy grumbled yet again, stabbing the reddish mass before him with a plastic spork. He fancied that the spork bent almost to breaking point before managing to make its way through the supposed pasta. When he shoved a bit into his mouth, Duo made a terrible face. Albeit the food was terrible, but he had to contort his face even more so, just so that Heero could tell how much pain he was in. The blue-eyed boy stared, finished off his own pasta, and stared some more. Somehow, Duo figured that Heero was not going to care whether he found the damn meal disgusting or not.

When he finished the pasta, he immediately went for the jelly. It was an unconscious decision, honest. But before his spork could get anywhere near the mound of green, Heero had shoved a piece of apple in its course and moved the plate of jelly off Duo's tray. Duo frowned, giving the green blob a wistful look before retracting his arm and shoving the slice of apple into his mouth. He really liked jelly too, but at least the apple tasted like apple.

By the time they finished eating, Heero's shirt and hair seemed to have dried, though not in the way somebody would want things to dry. The Japanese boy's normally white shirt now had a large patch of strange white-yellow coloring, and Duo suspected that it would cake off if Heero rumpled the shirt slightly. And his hair…well, Heero always had messy hair, even though he was such a perfectionist with everything he did, but hair sticking up at random weird angles because of what obviously looked like dry milk was a different story. Needless to say, Duo directed them on the shortest course to the nearest boy's bathroom the instant they left the cafeteria.

Getting the milk out of Heero's hair was one of the hardest things Duo had ever attempted. First they had to make Heero bend enough to have his head hovering just centimeters from the base of a sink, the Duo had to wash the stuff off without using soup, mostly because he could not stand to put the stuff into the Japanese boy's hair. It was an awkward experience, since the school sinks were shallow, and they could barely put Heero's head in far enough to get any of it under the measly drip of water. When they were finally done, they ended up having to use Heero's shirt to dry off his hair, and then keeping the boy wearing his blazer all day because he did not have a spare shirt at school. All in all, they were both very happy when the bell rung for home time.

Normally they would head for Duo's house after school, being that at least Howard did not try to shovel food down their throats. Not that Duo minded Heero's mother, because the lady was really nice and a brilliant cook, and about as brainy as her son but not nearly as reclusive. But there was just something slightly troubling about having spoonfuls of her cooking forced down one's throat, even after the stomach has swelled beyond its maximum capacity. Even Duo, who supposedly had the stomach of a void could not last long under Mrs. Yuy's careful feeding. It really got him thinking about just how Heero remained so thin, especially since he was not part of any sport team at school. Not that Heero was no good at sport. Duo had seen Heero without his shirt plenty of times, and hugged him as a recreational activity. The boy was seriously toned. He just played the part of the nerd at school, although Heero always made a category of his own. A nerd that even the teachers did not want to cross, now there was something. Nonetheless, since Heero had been shirtless since lunchtime, Duo decided to risk seeing Heero's mother. He remembered with a chuckle the look on their chemistry teacher's face when she saw Heero enter with his blazer worn obviously over nothing. According to standard school conventions, Heero should have been given detention and sent home for not wearing his uniform properly. Heck, Duo had been given two detentions already for the hair, and would have been given more if Howard had not walked in and convinced the principal into letting Duo keep his braid. But the chemistry teacher simply pursed her lips together and spent her lesson looking anywhere but at Heero, while the female population stared as if they had never seen a guy's chest before. Maybe when Heero finally dropped the whole emotionless-complex, Duo would remind him of this day and they could laugh about it over one of Mrs. Yuy's extravagant dishes.

The two stopped when the reached the front door of Heero's house. Heero went searching immediately in his bag for the keys, while Duo muttered a quick prayer to his stomach. The door opened, and the smell of apple pies wafted past Duo's nose. The two entered, removing their shoes at the door before walking into the house. On their way to the stairs, they passed Mr. Yuy who was sitting in the lounge reading a newspaper. Heero's father smiled kindly (though Duo could definitely see a small, maniacal glint in his eyes, so like Heero's whenever he was particularly…devious), before raising his voice and hollering to his wife that Heero and Duo were back. There was an answering call from the kitchen, and Mrs. Yuy emerged immediately to hug the wind out of Duo before promising apple pies and other goodies for an afternoon snack, and "something nice" for dinner. He smiled before following Heero up the stairs, hand unconsciously moving over his stomach and prayed frantically that he would still be able to move when he finished dinner.

'What are you doing?' Heero asked when they were both in the confines of his room. Duo gave him a look and settled down on the Japanese boy's bed before muttering something about dying from over-nourishment come dinner. Heero snorted (or at least, it was a snort for Heero), shook his head and pulled off his blazer before rummaging in his wardrobe for another shirt. Duo sighed and leaned back on the bed, eyes boring a hole in Heero's spotlessly white ceiling. There was not even the slightest sign of dust, and Duo wondered whether Heero cleaned his ceiling as well. 'Should we do some work?'

'Don't feel like it.' Duo replied, eyes still fixed on the ceiling. There was a shift in the mattress as Heero took a seat beside Duo, his eyes fixed on the braided boy.

'We have a chemistry assignment to complete.' He reprimanded, his voice deadpan.

'That's not due for another two weeks.' Duo retorted.

'Our literature essay is due in two days.'

'That's two days, not one.'

'We have a calculus test tomorrow.'

'Who needs to revise for calculus?'

Heero sighed, and Duo saw him lie down as well. The violet-eyed boy grinned, he won that round. There was silence for a while, with both boys staring at the ceiling and lost in their own thoughts, until Duo broke it.

'What do you think about vampires Heero?' He asked slowly, his voice soft.

'How can I comment?' Heero asked back without inflection. 'I only know one.'

'That's true.' Duo sighed. 'You know Heero, a normal person would be really shocked, and they would ask heaps of questions and get freaked out completely.'

'Hn.'

'That's it!' Duo scowled, sitting up quickly to glare at Heero from his new found height. The blue-eyed boy stared back quizzically, and Duo's glare increased. 'I am going to take over the world one day Heero Yuy, and I will ban the use of the word "Hn".'

'Hn isn't a word, baka.' Heero replied, and Duo saw the corners of his mouth twitch ever so slightly.

'I'll ban that "baka" word too.' Duo continued, his tone incensed, though his face slowly cracking into a smile was destroying the effect. 'The English language has words like "idiot" and "dumbass" for a reason you know!'

'Not everybody speaks English, dumbass.'

'You do!'

'I'm bilingual.' Heero smirked. 'I have a right to speak in both languages.'

'Curse you and your bilingualism.' Duo pouted. 'One day, I'll learn two other languages, and then we'll see who's laughing Yuy.'

'I'm not laughing.' But even as he said so, a smile flitted across his face, and Duo sprang onto his feet, finger pointing and a victorious look on his face. Heero gave him a questioning look, and his grin widened.

'Heero Yuy smiles for the fifth time! This calls for a celebration!'

Heero stared, his eyebrows quirked before getting up and moving to sit at his desk, muttering the word "baka" under his breath. The little smile remained on his face. Duo was just about to gloat some more when he heard Mrs. Yuy calling from downstairs, and the feeling of impending doom crept into his mind.

'Heero! Duo! Come down! The snacks are ready!'

'Snacks eh?' Duo asked, his voice shaky. 'Hey Heero, promise to haul me back home after dinner if I can't move?'

'I'm sure my mother would be most delighted if you stayed the night.' Was Heero's deadpan reply. 'It would mean a large breakfast.'

There was silence for a moment.

'You're a sadistic bastard Yuy.'

* * *

No footnotes this time, damn. Oh well. This really was a somewhat senseless chapter...(ducks before any readers decides to throw their unwanted fruits and vegetables). I was planning on making it longer but...well, that got lost in whatever the hell else I was doing while writing this. I promise I'll get into the plot by next chapter, so until then...well, at least this chapter was sort of light-headed and fluffy...sort of... 

And the Mrs. Yuy who feeds and feeds and feeds until it is impossible to be fed anymore, but will continue feeding regardless, she is based on my good friend Overlord's mother. She's really nice, and a brilliant cook, but she'll feed and keep feeding. Actualy, now that I think about it, Mrs. Yuy is probably based on all the Asian mothers I know. Probably why we at school call it the Asian Mother Complex. Well, at least being a child of a Asian family means you'll never be hungry...nor will your stomach ever be particularaly satisified, being always bloated and all, unless you perfect the art of saying no.

And as I have been saying in all my recently posted fics, if anybody knows how to post something on without your grammar being massacred, then do tell! Because it is really irritating how I have to run around the place changing things just because the uploading process chops away bits of my grammar and indentations!

Anyway, review please!

Assassin


	3. Chapter Three

**Progress: **3 of a proposed two digit number  
**General Notes: **I tried to integrate some plot into this chapter. Needless to say I failed somewhat miserably. I did get manage to bring the spotlight back on Duo being a vampire again, though only briefly, and I brought in a small dash of angst, which is good because this story is seriously lacking grit. I haven't done this before, but I suppose I should show my appreciation openly, so thank you all those kind people who reviewed. What can I say, I adore the attention (smiles meekly). So, um, yea, here's the third chapter folks, so you don't need to pout, **Ms Trick**. And you don't need to go insane **Duet**. Well, once again, read and review folks!  
And let's hope this stupid thing doesn't eat my grammar, I'm still waiting for answers to my small grammar massacre problem!  
**Music: **All the Small Things – Blink 182; Stairway to Heaven – Led Zepplin; Chou – Tsukiko Amano; Slaves to Rome – Gladiator Soundtrack; Only Time – Enya; Thank You – Home Made Kazoku; Runaway – Linkin Park; A Knife in the Dark – Lord of the Rings Soundtrack; Coin Song – Reiko Nomura; Fall on You – Yuki Kajiura; Everyday's Last Moment – Hikaru Nanase; What's it For – Emily Curtis

o0o indicates a change in time/place. I must say, I am not all that into random patterns, and actually wanted to use the equals or plus signs, but they were eaten by damn the damn upload process

**

* * *

**

**Aeternitas**

By Assassin

Chapter Three

The night air was cool, and zephyrs blew by at random intervals, ruffling their hair and clothes. The moon was full, barely hidden behind a thin veil of clouds, and stars shone down brightly, lighting their way.

Of course, Duo did not see any of that.

'I feel horrible.' He grumbled, his left arm slung over Heero's shoulder as the Japanese boy hauled him slowly home. Heero made a small comment about eating too much, and Duo grumbled about not being able to refuse when Mrs. Yuy looked at him with such a kind look. Heero snorted, but did not make another comment as they trekked down Surgite Boulevard, using the stars and the moon overhead as guidance more than any of the dull streetlamps around.

Duo chanced a small glance at Heero as they turned right at a fork. He looked absolutely normal, and had more than enough strength to half carry Duo home. He wondered dully just how Heero managed that, having not eaten any less than himself, but still managing to walk without fuss. The violet-eyed boy suspected that Heero's anatomy was probably significantly different from that of normal humans, which was why he could consume three bowls of rice, four plates of various dishes, two bowls of soup and still have enough space in his stomach to eat two apple pies and a bowl of chocolate fudge ice cream. But then again, it was not as if he was a normal human himself.

They reached Duo's house just as the moon disappeared behind a particularly thick patch of cloud, leaving the streets in almost absolute darkness. Duo complained about the quality of the streetlamps, but Heero just shrugged. They both entered through the backdoor, with a key that Duo removed from behind a crack in the wall. Heero commented that it was extremely unsafe to keep keys in such places, but Duo just snorted, commenting all the while that not everybody had as brilliant a memory as Heero Yuy, such that they never misplaced their keys (or anything else for that matter). Heero just snorted.

Perhaps if either paid any attention to their surroundings, then they would have seen the figure crouched on a nearby tree, watching their every move carefully through oddly luminescent eyes.

Nobody was home, although that was hardly surprising. Howard was often away for large amounts of time, and knew Mrs. Yuy was definitely reliable where feeding Duo was concerned, so rarely even bothered to tell Duo when he was going to be out of commission. Not that Duo minded. There was just something interesting about having the house all to oneself, even if Duo was not the party type of person. Well, perhaps he would have partied if Heero did not dislike loud noises and alcohol so much. Parties were just not fun when Heero Yuy was out of the picture.

They settled down on Duo's king sized bed, opposite the television. Duo did not need such a large bed, so to speak, but Howard had a thing about comfort where sleeping was concerned. "We spend so much time sleeping, so why not sleep on something comfy" he always said. Duo had no qualms about that either, with the exception that he could not fit anything into his room with that massive bed in the way. He did convince Howard to take down a wall for him, so that he could join his room with the next spare bedroom, so all was well.

Duo grabbed the remote and went through his nightly surfing of channels while Heero pulled out his PDA and began attacking it with his stylus. Duo wondered frequently what Heero had on his PDA that was so interesting. The Japanese boy never listened to music or watched movies on the device, and all Duo suspected he had on it were calendars, his phone book and possibly a few documents for school, none of which were particularly interesting. He sighed. He would never understand Heero Yuy and his fascination for anything technological.

'Hey Duo?' Duo grunted his response, eyes still fixed on the television. There was silence for a moment, and the braided boy turned to stare at his friend, indicating for him to continue. Heero looked slightly uncomfortable, which was rare, because discomfort was another one of those things that Heero Yuy did not like to show. Duo switched off the TV with one push of the remote, and devoted all his attention at his childhood friend, suddenly very curious. Heero squirmed, or at least did something that could be construed as a squirm, and Duo found himself very curious. Still, Heero did not speak a word, his eyes fixed firmly on his PDA.

'What's wrong buddy?' Duo asked quietly, urging the other boy on. Heero was silent for a moment more, his eyes still glued to the small device he held in his hands. Duo decided silently that he would burn that thing one day.

'Do you drink blood?' Duo was surprised. He was almost certain that Heero did not care for the topic at all. For a moment, both were silent. Then Duo leaned back into the pillows and sighed, a smile on his face.

'Nope.'

'I am afraid I do not understand.' Heero pocketed his PDA. 'You said earlier that some vampires do not require blood to survive. But is the definition of a vampire not a being which consumes human blood in order to survive?'

'I suppose…' Duo said thoughtfully. 'Well, if you think of it that way, then I'm more just a plain demon. I'm not actually completely sure on this subject, because Howard's knowledge on the subject is about as vague as mine, especially since he's just a regular human. Um…well, I was just told that I'm a vampire, but I don't really need to drink blood. They say that human blood allows vampires to heal faster or something, but it isn't good for us. Or at least, it isn't good for some vampires…ack, now you got me confused!'

'Sorry.' Heero squirmed slightly. 'This probably is not a good topic to talk about…'

'No, it's alright!' Duo sat up quickly. 'I'm actually glad you asked, otherwise I would have thought you just didn't give a damn! But this whole vampire business is a bit obscure for me as well. My mother was a vampire you see, and she was an only child. Apparently my mother's side had really strong vampire blood or something. Howard wasn't sure, he said that my mother was supposed to tell me all about it, not him. So…yea.'

'So then vampires aren't immortal?'

'Heero, do you just hide your curious side until you're firmly away from public eye?' Duo asked with a smirk. Heero was silent, his face suddenly impassive. The braided boy snorted, but continued. 'No, not all vampires are immortal. It really depends actually. Some vampires can only live for a couple of weeks, but Howard says those aren't really vampires at all. They're undead, he said, and mostly, they are just vampires that have been bitten by other vampires and lived through it. They're puppets, controlled solely by the vampire who bit them. But their bodies are dead, so they sort of die really quickly…or rather, they just sort of stop functioning. Then you have vampires like me, who live for as long as normal humans and die from normal causes. And then there are the weird vampires that can live forever. But all vampires can die. If you severe off a vampire's head, then it doesn't matter what kind he is, he's still going to just die. But apparently some can put themselves back together. I'm not sure how that works, since I'm quite sure if I chop off my finger, it's not going to attach itself again, so I won't try. But yea…'

'I see.'

'I hope I'm not scaring you Heero.'

'Heero Yuy does not do scared.' Heero smirked. 'We have a calculus test tomorrow, you should do some revision.'

o0o

Heero sighed as he made his way back home, eyes fixed firmly on the road before him. Duo was a vampire. That fact shocked him more than a little, and truth be told, he was slightly frightened. But he was not going to tell Duo that. Duo was a very important friend, and Heero did not wish to lose him because of his own childish fear. He had known Duo when he was younger had he not, and they had been reunited for two weeks, and Duo had been the same carefree idiot as always. Heero berated himself for being so curious earlier, he wondered dully whether Duo had grasped his fear.

He heard the arrow only seconds before it flew by, managing to swerve off the sidewalk just in time to see a silver arrow cut through where he had been earlier, and pierce the sidewalk as it finally fell to a halt. He turned quickly, eyes wide and searching for the person responsible for the arrow. But he saw only the quiet suburbia he had long since become accustomed to. Frowning slightly, he turned around to stare at the arrow, currently protruding out of the sidewalk. With shaking fingers, he tugged at it, releasing it from the concrete. It was a beautiful arrow, a result of brilliant craftsmanship. The point was sharp, and there was a strange pattern carved all the way from the tail to the tip which Heero could not clearly see. The entire thing was unusually light, and practically shimmering with some sort of invisible energy.

'You move quickly.' Heero's head snapped up quickly, eyes quickly finding the speaker. It was a teen no older than he, dressed in a heavy black cloak with a hood pulled over his head. The voice was definitely masculine.

'What do you want?' Heero bit sharply. The boy did not respond, did not move. The large bow he held was scraping on the floor, and a large pouch of silver arrows hung off his back. Heero eyed it nervously, unsure what he was supposed to do. Arrows were long distance weapons, he could fight this boy if things got out of hand. He did not wish to fight, but he would if the need for it became necessary.

'Keep away from the vampire.' The boy's voice was cold, colder than even Heero's on a bad day. The Japanese boy snarled, grasp tightening around the arrow he held. And then the boy was gone, running off and disappearing into the shadows with a speed Heero did not believe was possible for humans. There was silence again. A light breeze blew by, and a dog barked in the distance. Heero's legs finally gave way under him, and his knees his the ground with a dull thud.

o0o

Duo yawned, feeling remarkably tired. It was lunchtime again, and Heero was sitting opposite him as usual, eyeing the cafeteria food with a look of complete distaste. He was poking at the jelly again, and Duo hoped dully that Heero would not say the jelly was inedible again. No matter what the Japanese boy said, Duo liked jelly, even if it was just a bunch of chemicals made into the shape of an elastic blob. The jelly was even violet today! Duo adored the color violet, coming only a close second to black, which was not a color anyway.

'Don't eat the jelly Duo.'

Snap.

'Why not?' Duo asked irritably, grabbing his jelly possessively and holding it desperately out of the Japanese boy's reach. 'I happen to like jelly, thank you very much!'

'It bounces.' Heero answered, tipping his jelly onto the table as a demonstration. The purple blob bounced happily across the table, and almost fell over the edge when Heero collected it on his plate again and set it neatly back on the unsanitary cafeteria table. There was silence for a moment while Heero proceeded to inspect the main course of the day, which was what the cafeteria lady said was meatloaf, but looked more like gravy. Duo released his plate of jelly next to Heero's, his eyes twitching.

'On second thought, I think I'll pass on the jelly today…' Was all he said.

Heero smirked.

English literature was their next class, and possibly the most boring subject Duo had. Sure, he enjoyed reading and writing a great deal, but the lit. class was just plain boring. Today, the teacher was ranting about some book written by some Russian guy about gooseberries and somehow linking that back to happiness. Duo felt like he would be the happiest man in the world if the teacher would just shut up about the gooseberries. What made it worse was that gooseberries were not even nice…

Duo found his mind wandering, and his gaze slipped from the teacher to scout around the class, taking in all the students from the bored to the diligent. The girl sitting in front of him was typing a text message on her phone behind her book, and the guy next to her was eating a chocolate bar. In fact, the only person who ever paid attention to these classes was probably Heero and a few of the literature nerds. But Duo was in for a shock when he looked to his right and saw Heero staring absent-mindedly out the window, his pencil spinning so quickly in his hands that it almost appeared a blur. Ripping out a corner of his exercise book, Duo scribbled a small note and threw it at Heero. It hit the Japanese boy on the arm, and he jolted, eyes wide for a moment before registering what was happening. Duo felt his frown increase. Heero read the note quickly, gave Duo a sharp glare, scribbled a reply and tossed it over. Duo unfurled it eagerly, but was disappointed with Heero's reply.

_Are you okay? It's unusual to see you so absent-minded… _

_I'm fine, don't worry. Concentrate on the gooseberries. _

At least the Japanese youth had attempted a joke, even if it was somewhat lame. Duo drew a picture of a gooseberry being impaled by a sharp toothpick and threw it back at Heero. Heero snorted, threw the piece of paper into his pencil case and gave Duo an amused glare. The braided boy stuck out his tongue.

The rest of the afternoon went by without drama.

o0o

Duo stayed back after school for basketball practice, and Heero waited for him as usual from his place in the stands. Duo wondered once again why Heero did not play any sports at school, since he was obviously good at it. If he was going to wait after school every second day for Duo to finish practice, then he might as well join anyway, right? But the Japanese boy just sat in the second lowest row and busied himself with finishing off his chemistry homework. Duo shrugged, he would never understand him.

Practice was almost over when Duo spotted a girl with blond hair rush over to Heero. If he was not mistaken, then that was Relena Peacecraft, a sophomore. The only reason he knew her was because she was on the cheerleading squad. So why was she speaking to Heero? Duo watched them chat out of the corner of his eye, feeling his curiosity growing. He would definitely need to ask Heero about her as soon as practice was over.

By the time Duo had finished showering and changing out of his gym gear, Relena was already gone. Heero was still in his seat, but was busy packing up all his homework. Duo heard a couple of the other guys joking about Heero and his nerd-like behavior, and felt his anger brewing. But before he could do anything else, Heero had glanced over, having finished packing up his things, and sent the other jocks an icy glare. They shut up immediately, and Duo felt a smile creep on his face. Heero rose from his seat and left the gym, with Duo racing after, backpack slung awkwardly over one shoulder.

'Afternoon Heero.' He greeted when he finally caught up with the other boy. Heero nodded his response, and Duo took that as a cue to begin talking. 'The jocks are assholes.'

'You're a jock Duo.' Heero retorted, his voice deadpan. Duo made a face.

'But I'm not one of them.' Duo said impatiently. 'Anyway, was that Relena Peacecraft you were talking to?'

'Yes.' Heero's reply was as impassive as ever. 'Do you know her?'

'She's a cheerleader.' Duo answered.

'She told me.' Heero sighed. 'How did you go on your calculus test?'

'Don't go off changing the topic buddy!' Duo protested, giving Heero a playful punch. 'And I did just fine, Mr. Person-who-kept-me-up-till-two-to-revise-for-something-stupid.'

'I merely did not want a repeat of last time.' Heero quirked an eyebrow. 'I hope you remember how you whined about doing badly on your chemistry test?'

'That's chemistry, it's different from calculus.' Duo made a face. 'And how was I supposed to remember what the hell the Frasch Process was?'

Heero snorted.

'So, what was darling Miss. Peacecraft talking about anyway?'

'If you must know.' Heero sighed. 'She's in the debating team, and was asking for my point of view on the current situation between the Earth Sphere and the Colonies.'

'Is that all.' Duo pouted. 'Here I was thinking that perhaps you got yourself a girlfriend.'

Heero stopped and fixed Duo with a glare. The braided boy shuddered despite himself. When they resumed walking again, Duo had already committed to his memory that the girlfriend topic was not a safe subject around Heero, although he could not for the life of him figure out why. All the jocks talked about girlfriends, heck, some of them ever ranted about their boyfriends. If he had a girlfriend, then he would definitely share it with Heero. The idea that Heero possibly did not trust him felt like a knife in his back. But Duo smiled anyway, it would not do for Heero to see him sad, besides, there was probably a perfectly logical reason why Heero was so reluctant with the topic.

'So, come over to my place and beta my literature essay for me?' Duo asked cheerfully. Heero glanced over, blinked once and nodded, and Duo launched immediately into a detailed description of his essay concerning happiness.

The proverbial knife remained, and slowly dug itself deeper into Duo's body.

* * *

**Endnotes:**

Um…yes. Well, I hope that was at least somewhat interesting. Ranted a bit about vampires, and before you say it, yes I know it sounds somewhat similar to Tsukihime. Sorry, but I must say, most of the stories and anime concerning vampires all seem to come back to a very similar core, and try as I might, mine does not seem to be straying far enough from it. Hopefully I can shield this complete typical-ness by putting more emphasis else where (hint, hint). Anyway, hope the little bit of angst induced at least a bit of an "aww-factor" into your minds, and Relena…well, if it's any consolation, I really don't like her, and the 1x2 fandom has hardly ever been kind to her. My friend Mi-chan reckons I should kill her, but...well...what do you all think?

Anyway, you all know the drill. Review folks and encourage this caffeine deprived author. Perhaps your voices combined will make me write faster…heavens knows my mother's voice definitely pierces through everything I'm doing to make me sit at my desk and do homework, even when I really don't have anything left to do…


	4. Chapter Four

**Progress: **4 of a proposed two digit sum  
**General Notes: **Another chapter, aren't you all happy? (Silence) Ack…can't this author get just a little appreciation? And before you say it, at least I think I deserve it. Although **Overlord **would probably hit me over the head and call me sad for it, but oh well. Assassin likes to be liked, and kills those who don't like her…  
Proverbially, of course!  
Anyways, well excuse me for likening Duo slightly to myself. But I thought, since I have a large bed, why can't he have one? At least he has a large room, I don't! My fudging bed takes up all the space in my room and leaves me with this tiny little area to put my desk and this lame excuse of a chair. Sigh. And I had my chemistry book next to me when I wrote it, so I thought, why not put the Frasch Process in it? I know it's not complicated, and I'm still irritated that I memorized it as well as the Contact Process for nothing, since it wasn't even on the damn SAC. Total waste of time! Huffs.  
Oh, and I apologize for the long time since the last update. Has been kind of busy with my exams, and then there's that other fic of mine that I really got into. Sorry for all those who waited so patiently!  
**Specific Notes: **Some more angst in this one, though…well, not really angst, just…Heero being irritable. Sorry Bob if I'm killing the cute Heero for you, disappointing I know, but necessary. We get to meet Quatre at least, and I get a bit more into the actual plot. Sort of…  
**Music: **Heji – Elfen Lied OST; Track 1 – (blank) (this track is nameless, since my friend gave it to me and forgot the name and the people who sang it…kind of sounds like Linkin Park though); Goodbye – SR-71; My World – SR-71; Die Another Day – Madonna; Knocking on Heaven's Door – Guns 'n' Roses

* * *

**Aeternitas**

Chapter Four

Heero was walking home alone again from Duo's place after a night of would-be intensive study. Perhaps they would have accomplished more if Duo had not started arguing and declaring his opinions heatedly every time Heero made a comment about one of his essay points. Honestly, even if Heero was more tolerant than most people to persistent naggings and repetition (considering he has Duo for a best friend), there was still a line to be drawn between tolerance and complete melt-down over the argument that one man's happiness may only be gained from another man's misfortune. Seriously.

The Japanese boy stopped suddenly, left foot halting just as it was about to be lifted off the ground. He could feel somebody's gaze on him, and knew without a doubt that he was – once again – somebody's target. He did not need to turn around to know of the character standing on the nearest lamppost, bowstring taunt and arrow ready for release.

'Don't you get tired of following me around every single night?' Heero asked at last, a smirk evident on his face. He turned slowly, not wanting to jolt the archer into firing the silver arrow, and fixed the said archer with a icy glare. The archer in shadow returned the glare with just as much ice, his aquamarine eyes shining with barely-concealed contempt.

'I told you to stay away from the vampire.' His voice was cold and impassive, but there was no mistaking the formidable air and the lining of dominance. Heero felt a most feral growl slip past his careful composure as his hands tightened into fists.

'I don't like obeying orders from somebody who has of yet not had the decency to reveal their true aim.' Heero grounded, eyes a flashing ice-blue. Archer snorted derisively before jumping off the lamppost to land neatly on the ground before Heero, a short six feet separating the two. The Japanese boy could not make out the other boy's face, but the ocean-green eyes and alabaster skin more than hinted the boy's obvious European decent.

'You'll be sorry if you do not stay out of our business.' Archer murmured softly, but Heero heard every word perfectly. He slowly loosened the arrow and returned it to his pouch, and Heero felt himself releasing a small sigh of relief. Archer still heard him. 'You don't want to be hurt now do you, boy?'

'Boy?' Heero asked with a smirk. 'That seems hardly fair considering that you do not appear much older than I. And do share some information about this "our" you are referring to. Is some sort of organization after Duo?'

'Don't meddle with business beyond your league human!' Archer spat back irritably, blue-green eyes narrowing. 'We do this to protect you! So stop shooting off arrogant words without understand the full impact of what you are saying!'

'I'll say what I wish.' Heero growled softly in a voice which promised pain and suffering, and saw Archer shiver slightly despite himself. 'And I'll protect myself thank you. I have all these years, and I do not plan on dropping my guard to let some kid in a cloak take over.'

'Arrogant human!' The boy spat acidly. 'Do not say things you do not understand!'

'Make me understand then.' Heero felt all his patience slip away from him, and it was all he could do to keep himself from lashing out at the boy. A calm exterior was what Heero Yuy was famous for, but he was definitely having a problem maintaining that farce at that moment.

Archer glared, aquamarine eyes cold. Then, ever so slowly, he smiled and Heero felt his ill-will falter slightly. Despite the fact that most of Archer's face was in shadow, Heero could still see his features lighting up under the smile. It reminded him of one of Duo's smiles, so carefree and calm, a smile just for the moment. He could not decide whether it alleviated his fear or fueled them.

'Come human.' Archer's voice was warm. 'Join me for a cup of tea.'

* * *

As it turned out, Archer lived at a small flat only two streets down from Heero's house. Two bedrooms and a lounge – both of which were exquisitely furnished – and a balcony from which one could easily scout the neighborhood from. Heero removed his shoes as usual at the door, despite Archer insisting that he did not have to. His mind was in conflict, with one side deathly curious and the other horrendously paranoid. But it did not matter. He was here, and Archer had not tried to kill him yet, and if it finally came to a fight, then Heero would definitely give the ocean-eyed boy a run for his money. Respectfully, Heero stood before the couch in the living room and waited for Archer's assent before sitting down. Archer himself, set down his bow and arrows as well as removed his cloak before joining Heero on the couch, a teapot and two cups in hand. 

'Do you like tea?' Archer asked, setting the china down on the coffee table. Heero shrugged unconcernedly, not really minding what he drank at the moment as long as it did not end up killing him. When Archer finally gave him a cup filled with the slightly brown fluid, he found himself sniffing carefully at it and testing some on the tip of his tongue. Drinking only ensued once he confirmed that there was no poison or other drugs within the beverage. Archer laughed. 'Very careful are you not?'

Heero shrugged once again. Archer smiled and leaned back on the couch before taking a sip of the tea, eyes momentarily closed in pleasure. The Japanese boy felt an eyebrow on the verges of quirking, and killed the urge before it could be performed.

'My name is Quatre Winner by the way.' Archer introduced with a smile. 'I'm Arabian, just so that you know.'

'Arabian?' This time, the eyebrow did fly. 'I thought you were a Yank.'

'I assure you I am Arabian, but the hair and the eyes are a bit misleading.' Quatre laughed, gesturing mildly at the blond hair and the blue eyes. 'And you are Heero Yuy are you not?'

'No, I am Julius Cesar of the Roman Empire.' Heero deadpanned. Quatre snorted.

'Somehow, I could not picture you with a sense of humor.'

'We all have humor.' Heero confessed with a shrug. 'Some of us just don't prefer to show it.'

'I agree.' Quatre set down his cup. 'On to business, Mr. Yuy. Stay away from vampires, all of them. It hardly matters if that one is your friend. He'll still go wild and lust after your blood if you spill before him.'

'Duo said he doesn't drink blood.' Heero stated firmly. 'I believe in Duo.'

'I'm sure you do.' Quatre suddenly looked very tired. 'I assure you, you are not the first human I've seen who has decided to ally themselves with a vampire. But when the situation arises, you'll find that animalistic instincts are difficult to fight.'

'I trust Duo.' Heero repeated, tone unwavering. 'But I don't trust you.'

'As expected.' Quatre's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Heero. 'But you'll find that I am the only insurance you have, and therefore should be given a large slice of your confidence.'

'I am my own insurance.' Heero stood up quickly, startling the archer slightly. 'I do not care if you are one of the Vampire Hunters Duo spoke of. However, I will tell you now: if you ever try to harm Duo-' Heero's eyes narrowed into an icy glare '-I'll kill you.'

'If we engage in combat Heero Yuy,' Quatre's voice was deathly quiet. 'I will spare you no mercy.'

'I do not expect any.' Heero growled, already heading towards the door. He put on his shoes quickly, his movements hurried – an obvious sign of agitation. Then Heero stood, gave Quatre a polite bow before exiting in the flat.

'Che…' Quatre sighed softly as he sat down once more, a forlorn look on his face. 'I was hoping I would make a friend of you, Heero Yuy.'

* * *

Duo was distraught, unsure what he should make of his childhood friend. It was a given that Heero would be slightly anti-social, moody at times and terribly temperamental when he was agitated (which was a rare occasion), but even Duo had never seen the boy so irritated. He had picked up Heero as usual from his home, given the same greeting and chatted about the same inconsequential things. But throughout it all, Heero did not utter a single word, appearing more to have spent his time glaring holes into the air before him and mulling over something extremely distressing. When Duo asked him what was wrong, he did not appear to have heard, taking the time instead to send a glare Duo's way. The braided boy made sure to keep his questions to himself after that. 

When they finally arrived at class, Heero took his seat at the back of the class with the window on his left and Duo on his right; normal behavior. However, when the teacher sent a question Heero's way and demanded to know why the Japanese teen had not even opened his text book, the said teen sent a full-force death glare his way. The calculus teacher immediately sent the question elsewhere, and spent the whole session avoiding Heero's corner of the room. It soon became apparent to Duo that the Mr. White had shared intelligence with the other teachers, as nobody else bothered Heero again after that, which included the janitor who Heero rammed past in the hallway on his way to his literature class. The normally irritable man did not even voice his complaints, and seemed to disappear into the crowd faster than most of the bad guys from cheesy action movies.

And now they sat in the cafeteria, trays of "food" before them and the rowdiness of the Laconia High Cafeteria around them. Duo was trying desperately to tell Heero a light joke he heard off one of the jocks during basketball practice, but the other boy seemed intent on destroying his jelly (orange and completely inedible due to having no bounce at all, contrary to the rest of the week). It was already looking like the lunch of a five year old after being swallowed and then pushed back up the throat again, and the Japanese boy was still attacking it with his spork. But what bothered Duo most of all was that Heero's eyes did not show anger.

He was worried.

To the normal human eye, Heero was currently furious and smashing up his jelly into toddler vomit just to show his rage. However, Duo knew better. Even if they had not seen each other for eight years, Duo was still sure he was one of the best at reading the other boy, and his intuition was telling him that Heero was very worried over something. But it was unusual, because Heero was hardly ever worried about anything. The last time Duo had seen Heero so stressed was when they were younger, and the Japanese boy had just found out that Duo would be leaving. But nobody that Duo knew of was leaving, or injured, or dying for that matter. And worry just was not something Heero ever felt in regards to school work. Perhaps it was about his girlfriend, Duo wondered dully as he shoved his spork into his share of the non-bouncing jelly, though with a bit more force than he should have, because the utensil ended up going right through the bottom of the plastic plate. Heero eyed him warily for a second before resuming the pulverization of his jelly, which was fast turning into liquid. Great, now Heero was going to direct his irritation at Duo as well for poking a hole through the cheap, school paper-plates because it interrupted his own jelly mashing, Duo thought, feeling his own irritation finally surface.

'What is wrong with you Heero?' The braided boy asked, extracting his spork and shoving it into the supposed main-course (cafeteria beef-casserole, which resembled brown sludge more than anything else). 'You've been acting like an agitated hawk defending her eggs!'

Heero opened his mouth to retort, thought better of it, and shut it again, eyes fixed firmly on the tray before him. Duo frowned, and felt his anger recede to give way to genuine worry. There might have been times when he would have paid to see Heero speechless, but now was not one of them. The Japanese boy's gaze dropped to his plate, his spork drawing stabbing the liquid-mush that was once jelly without much conviction.

'Will you ta-'

'I'm sorry.' Heero apologized softly, barely audible over the cafeteria background noise, but Duo heard him anyway. Blue eyes met violet almost timidly, and Duo was shocked by the fear he saw there before Heero's mind caught up with it and hid it away. 'I have been acting like a total loser, to both you and everybody else. I apologize, Duo. I should not have let my feelings get the better of my actions.'

'It's okay Heero, honestly.' Duo sighed. 'Won't you tell me what's wrong?'

Heero did not respond, and his gaze slipped back to his liquid jelly. Duo smiled it off, insisting that it was okay. Heero grunted a truly expressive grunt which told Duo jack-all, and then proceeded to mash the jelly again.

'The jelly is dead Heero.' Duo offered blandly, jabbing his plastic spork in the path of Heero's rage. The other boy gave a second grunt, shoved the plate off his tray and proceeded to attack his fried rice (the cafeteria was trying to be oriental today). Duo just sighed, leaned back in his seat and inspected his meal from afar. This was definitely not a good day.

* * *

Duo had basketball practice after school again, and for the first time in an age, he did not feel like going. He really wanted to skip practice so he could keep his eye on Heero. He was not quite sure why he felt the other boy might get up to something dangerous and hurt himself while he was not looking, or the fact that if the Japanese boy decided to do something, there was hardly anything Duo could do to stop him. Not that he was speaking from experience. He and Heero had never gotten into a fight to the point where fists were used, but he had definitely seen Heero fighting. They were seven and the Japanese boy sent four other boys to hospital, two of which sported broken limbs and a third with a mild concussion. Heck, Duo could not even remember what the fight was about, although he did recall somebody making a jab about his braid. Nonetheless, even if Heero did not play sport, he was strong. Very strong. Even the more stockier jock boys were scared of him, even though Duo was quite sure they had never seen Heero fight. Dully, he wondered just what Heero had done before Duo transferred into the school. 

In the corner of his eye, Duo saw Relena enter the gym and take a seat beside Heero. The Japanese boy looked up from his literature essay, offered her a polite greeting and went back to writing. Relena smiled and took her seat beside Heero. Her mouth was moving, but Duo could not hear what she was saying. But whatever it was, it certainly caught Heero's attention, because the Japanese boy was staring at her with a mild expression and responding every so often. Duo felt a twinge of jealousy, and wondered what Relena had to say that was so interesting. He threw the basketball, watching it fly in a large loop before hitting the corner of the backboard and bouncing off in a strange angle. A few of his teammates made exasperated noises and his coach gave him a lecture.

Heero and Relena were still deep in conversation when he turned again, and Duo had the feeling that Heero had not seen his obvious miss and subsequent reprimand.

The strange pain in his stomach increased.

The rest of practice went about as abysmally as Duo supposed it could possibly go. Heero had left with Relena a while back, and he had been completely distracted since. He wondered where his friend had gone, and what he and Relena were doing together. Did they go off to discuss about the debating topic as Heero had said yesterday, or were they off chatting about something completely different at a cozy little coffee house somewhere. For some reason, the thought bothered Duo. Heero was Duo's best friend, his confidant and his pillar of support when things went down the drain. He had been when they were children running around with ideas of jumping off roves and taking flight, and he was still now, even if they had only been reunited for a couple of weeks. Dejectedly, Duo wondered if Heero had even considered him as anything important.

After all, Heero would have told him instead of Relena what had been bothering him, had he put all his faith in Duo, would he not? He would have been chatting animatedly with Duo instead of Relena, should have been chatting with Duo instead of the other way around. He would have told Duo that he had a bloody girlfriend, instead of giving that look that said without words that it was a supposed forbidden topic. Duo threw the ball, and it flew cleanly over the goal and bounced off the opposite wall. It just occurred to Duo just how little about Heero Yuy he actually knew. He did not know Heero's favorite color, did not know his favorite food. He had never even come close to hearing anything about Heero's social life outside of him, and then there was the interests topic. Duo told Heero about every fling he had, every crush and every infatuation. Heero was always the first to know when Duo liked somebody, or when Duo went out with somebody. They had been friends again for twenty days, and Heero already knew Duo Maxwell's life story to date. Duo threw the ball and it bounced off the hoop. What did he know of Heero Yuy that nobody else knew?

Duo showered quickly, wanting to get out of school and possibly find Heero as soon as possible. He could hear a couple of the jocks joking about random things, but it was the comment about Heero and Relena going out that snagged Duo's attention. He listened attentively, hoping to catch something that he did not already know. But the conversation was mainly about how lucky Heero was, considering how popular Relena was and how rich her family was. They were all joking rather crudely at just how Heero, who they considered the epitome of nerdiness, ended up with Miss. Peacecraft. When they started to speculate about whether Relena was a good kisser or not, Duo decided to take his leave. He was dried, dressed with his bag slung over his shoulder and running out the gym within five minutes.

As he expected, Heero was not around.

It was the first time in over two weeks that Duo walked home by himself, and definitely the first time he realized just how far his house was from the school. By the time Duo got home, his spirits had sunk another few proverbial feet. Howard was still away, but he did call the night before to inform Duo that he would be back in roughly a week. The guy was not even in the country anymore! Duo grumbled irritably as he dropped his bag in the entrance hall and stumbled into his room, falling flat onto his bed. He lay there for a moment, playing with the end of his braid while staring up at the ceiling above. He wondered dejectedly whether his good buddy would come over after he was done with his girlfriend.

The phone rang in the background, but Duo did not move to pick it up. The answering machine sounded, and he could hear his own voice announcing the lines "We're either not here or severely incapacitated, so leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we're able." Then went the beep, and Howard's voice came on. Apparently his trip was going to be extended, so he would not be back for another two weeks. He was currently in London, in a quaint little hotel overlooking a very busy street that never got any peace. Duo sighed, wishing he could be overseas.

He must have dozed off at some point, because when he awoke again, it was already dark outside. He grumbled slightly and struggled to sit up before realizing that he was lying properly in his bed, with the covers pulled up. He lay for a moment, staring up at the white ceiling above before getting up and dislodging the covers. Somebody had changed him into his pajamas, and hung his uniform neatly on the back of his chair. They had cleaned up his room as well, and Duo grinned when he saw Heero's neat writing pinned to the billboard on the back of his door.

_ Don't randomly fall asleep like that, you'll catch a cold._

_ I brought you some dinner, it's in the fridge. I removed most of the food that was already in there, considering that most of them expired about a week ago, and I replaced your milk carton. The old one had been off for two days. I certainly hope you haven't been drinking from it. If you do suffer any stomach aches, give me a call. I re-supplied your drug cupboard, so you can take some painkillers if things get too bad. _

_ Heero_

Duo scrunched up the note with a smirk. The thing was so typically Heero! Who needs a mother as long as he has Heero? He thought wryly as he proceeded to the kitchen, his rumbling stomach egging him on. He wondered whether he should give the Japanese boy a call anyway and ask about what he was doing with Relena, but decided swiftly against it. It was not like Heero would tell him if he asked, being the secretive bastard he was. Duo pulled out the pasta Heero had brought, noticing dully that his fridge was practically empty. There were a couple of new vegetables, and the bananas were yellow again. But it was not like Duo was going to eat them. They may own a fridge, but he and Howard hardly ever used it. Food went in and well, never came out again.

Duo had dinner in front of the television in the lounge. The seven-o'clock news had just started, and the news presenter was delivering a report on some terrorists who somehow managed to infiltrate and bomb a Russian military base. Duo watched with disinterest as the camera swerved around the ruins, while a general of some sort gave out a speech in heavily accented English. Duo wolfed down his pasta in the meantime, his mind carefully painting up a picture where his good buddy still cared for him and looked after him and thought the world of him despite his own blond girlfriend. It was almost working, until the next report came on and Duo found himself choking on his food.

Ten people dead; massacre; local library; blood; neck trauma.

Duo did not need to hear anything else to know that this was the work of vampires.

The victims were all deathly pale, with eyes wide open and glassy. There was the same bite mark on the neck, just over the jugular. Of course, the police investigating were confused and telling the public that to stay on the look out for anybody suspicious. Duo personally felt sick. He had never tasted blood, save his own when he split his lip falling down the stairs, and the taste was metallic and coppery and definitely something he did not enjoy. Nor had he ever seen a vampire feeding on another, save the ultra-descriptive stories Howard sometimes told. But to drink blood in such succession, it could only mean either a powerful vampire succumbing to his lust, or a middle-class vampire controlling a bunch of lackeys. As expected, the bite marks were not neatly shaped, but human like, save for two particularly deep holes where the canines would have been. A bite mark on every one of the ten dead people, all of which were female school girls. It was more frightening than sickening, especially considering how close by the library was. Duo wondered dully whether the hunters would have a field day at this. The Sacreds would definitely converge on the area at the news, which meant he was probably not safe. He had heard from Howard that the Sacreds were very biased in their beliefs, and would eliminate any vampire they came across.

The back door opened, and Duo jolted. He turned around quickly, mind uneasy. But it was only Heero, and Duo felt a wave of relief wash over him immediately. Heero gave him an odd look as he sat down beside Duo, the questioning in that gaze was obvious.

'Did you see the news?' Duo asked, nodding his head towards the television. Heero nodded, fetching his PDA and showing Duo an article on a news website. The same glassy eyes stared back at him. 'Vampires.'

'I figured.' Heero's reply was calm and controlled, but Duo sensed something hiding under there.

'So…where did you go after school today?' He asked innocently, shoveling another spoonful of pasta into his mouth.

'Nowhere.' Heero was busy doing something on that palm PC of his again. Duo gave the device a look of utmost contempt before swallowing yet another bite.

'Had a nice date with Cheerleader-san?' He asked, surprised at how smoothly acid his voice was. Heero sent him a look before turning back to his PDA, stylus flying across the screen and scribbling quickly.

'We did not go on a date Duo.' Heero replied after a moment, eyes still fixed on the screen in his hands. Duo snorted.

'You don't have to lie Heero!' He said with a smile, his stomach twisting again. 'Come on! I always tell you when I go out with someone, why won't you tell me?'

'I'm not going out with anyone.' Heero's reply was surprisingly vehement. Duo blinked, stunned, while the Japanese boy coughed slightly and regained his composure. 'Please don't pester me right now Duo, I'm in a really foul mood.'

'I realized.' Duo sighed, leaning back in the couch. The news had moved to two men found dead in an alleyway, the apparent cause of death being two accurate bullet wounds in the head. 'People just keep dying these days.'

'Hn.'

Duo yawned and stretched back in his seat, feeling surprisingly awkward in the presence of his best friend. It started raining outside, a steady rhythm as water hit glass windows. Duo glanced out the nearest window, seeing only a reflection of the lounge room. His face was tired, his eyes showing obvious the strain the day had brought him. Heero was still staring at his PDA, busy doing something that Duo could not be bothered to check up. He finished his pasta and placed the plate on the coffee table with a clatter, before turning on the couch to lie flat, his head next to Heero's leg.

'Thanks for coming over.' He murmured, feeling suddenly very sleepy.

'Baka, that are friends for.' Heero gave him a look which normally came with a smile on a normal person. Duo smiled back before closing his eyes and dozing off with the rain, television and Heero's ever comforting presence to lull him.

Reality or not, Duo felt a hand rest on his cheek for a moment. It felt nice, and gave him the feeling of being safe that only Heero could deliver.

He wanted that hand to stay there forever.

* * *

**Endnotes:**

Okay, now that chapter was just…weird. I completed this chapter over the course of a week and somehow, I feel like I just completely lost the plot. Whatever it is that I was supposed to write, I did not write it. It was supposed to be angst in the other way, but ended up being angst in the nominal way, if you get what I mean. Sigh. It probably wasn't the best of ideas to finish off this last bit so late at night, after a day of crappy school, but I wanted to write and well, lets just say my mind wasn't in one place. I was supposed to bring Heero and Duo's relationship into the light more, but somehow only managed to make it more than just a tad confusing. Now I'm lost as well…

Sort of did not manage to incorporate enough of the vampire community into this one, so I'll give you the promise that there will be some more meat of the vampire plot in the next chapter. Sigh. Oh well, at least Hee-chan had a nice conversation with Quatre, sort of.

And once again, more jelly abuse. **Mineko Yuy **asked whether I had something against jelly, since I have been abusing them in all my chapters so far. The answer to that, well, I don't actually mind jelly. But I think it's such novelty! And the perfect food product for Heero to attack, because it is so damn artificial and I just had to make Heero a complete obsessive compulsive psycho in relation to food and hygiene. Hey, nothing wrong with that! And as usual, review folks. Comments, criticism, suggestions and whatever else you have to say are all welcome. Interaction allows me to believe I'm not writing to a wall…


	5. Chapter Five

**Progress: **5 of a proposed two digit sum  
**General Notes: **I know, I haven't updated in ages. I have many excuses, but I know you guys won't listen to any of them, which I suppose is justified since that's all I have: excuses. Sorry **Wall**, I didn't mean to insult you! I meant the wall that didn't respond. Heh. And yes, you are quite right. Exams finished ages ago…I was just lazy. Anyway, thank you all those who reviewed! I'm glad you guys like this story, and as always, read and review!  
**Music: **Butter-fly – Koji Wada; Life Goes On – Gundam Seed Destiny Single; It's My Life – Bon Jovi; Breathe - Prodigy; Someday, someday – Thirsty Merc; Tomorrow – SR-71; Lacrimosa – Sweetbox; Ninja – Jay Chou; In the Name of Father – Jay Chou; Fantasy Impromptu – Chopin; Pathetique - Beethoven

* * *

**Aeternitas**

Chapter Five

Duo was sitting on a pier, feet dangling in the cold lake water. A glance around showed him a empty valley with long grass and flowers of every color of the spectrum, and a massive blue lake in the center. The hills that surrounded the valleys were tall and dominating, completely blocking out any possible views of the outside world. The sky overhead was clear blue, and the sun shone brightly, casting bright rays that failed to warm Duo's skin. No breezes blew, no birds sang. The valley was empty except for him, empty, silent, dead.

As if on cue, the sky suddenly darkened and lightening cracked, promising rain. The valley was thrown into shadow, and all that was beautiful a moment ago dulled in color. The lake turned a steely pewter, and the water temperature simultaneously dropped several degrees. Duo wanted to wrench his legs out of the water, but it seemed that he could not move. Strangely enough, he did not feel panicked at all as he remained sitting, eyes fixed on nothing in particular, only noticing the chill slowly spreading through his body.

Rain fell suddenly, drenching him, but still he remained where he was. His clothes, now saturated in water, clung tightly to him and his hair felt several times heavier. But still, he waited. Waited for something, anything. The realistic part of Duo's brain told the rest of him that it was a pointless wait, that nobody would be coming. But Duo's more stubborn idealistic mind remained fixed on the concept that somebody would come.

_We had a promise._

Large ripples spread from the lake, ripples uncaused by the falling rain. Duo's gaze swerved across the lake, trying to pin-point where the disturbance was coming from. Finally, his eyes settled on a darkening form under the surface of the water, a form which was steadily growing larger. Duo was on his feet in an instant, eyes fixed on the dark shadow, heart beating rapidly within his body. There was a flash of light, and Duo's hand flew to his face immediately, shielding his eyes…

Duo Maxwell awoke with a start. For a moment, he was completely disorientated, breathing still harsh and heartbeat rapid. Then he realized he was lying in bed with the quilt half twisted around him, the other half on the floor. The rhythmic sound of rain hitting glass droned on in the background, slowly soothing Duo's agitated nerves. Deliberately slowly, Duo detached himself from the quilt before dragging the rest of it off the floor and throwing it properly over himself. A glance at the window told him that it was sometime early morning, or so he thought. The digital clock on the opposite wall told him otherwise, red digits currently displaying the time as ten-thirty. Duo took another shuddering breath before closing his eyes once again, recalling the dream as best as he could.

It had been so very vivid. The smells of the valley in bloom, the feeling of the rain hitting him, the coldness of the lake water around his feet, he could remember everything as vividly as if he had actually been there. Yet, even as he recalled the valley, he could feel bits of it beginning to fade. Like all dreams, this one was fraying too, so that when Duo finally sat up in his bed half an hour later, all he could remember was a scene featuring a pier by a lake in a valley of brilliantly colored wildflowers.

Duo dressed slowly, distractedly, his mind still swimming with jumbled thoughts. He had no idea why he felt that the dream had been important, save that he did was hence trying to remember more of it. But all he could remember was what the valley looked like. He vaguely recalled waiting for somebody, but perhaps that had been his mind trying to interpret the situation and coming up with the only logical answer it knew. Not that the dream sequence had been logical in anyway, Duo added to himself, nor his current behavior.

He stumbled slightly into the lounge, eyes still blinking sleepily. The entire house was in semi-darkness, despite the fact that it was already eleven. Duo switched on the television as he passed, the channel appearing the news channel, a typical find considering that Heero had been over the previous night. Duo wondered when Heero had left, since he seemed to have fallen asleep at some random, inconvenient time and left the task of hauling his sleeping form to bed to Heero. Stifling a yawn, he returned back to the lounge to collapse on the couch, another bowl of Heero's mother's infamous cooking resting in his lap.

The news reporter was reporting about the ten dead people again, which was unsurprising considering the enormity of the case. The officer in charge of the assignment appeared agitated as he warned locals (especially young girls) to be careful where they went and report the moment they saw anything suspicious. Duo made a face as the camera zoomed in on the highly graphic images of the dead people once again, wondering if this kind of report was really suitable for morning news. The phone rang suddenly, but Duo ignored it as he tended to do until the caller confirmed his intentions. It was a surefire way of getting rid of those pesky telemarketers, that and he was too damned lazy to rush over and pick up the phone unless it was somebody worth speaking to.

It was early after all.

The answering machine switched on, and Duo could hear the recording playing. The beep sounded, but there was no sound on the other end. Then there was a high-pitched, inhuman screech which surprised Duo into dropping his bowl. The click that followed signaled the end of the call, but Duo found himself still staring at his answering machine as if it was some kind of monster. What the hell was that? Cautiously, Duo strode over to the answering machine and checked to see if the caller ID had registered. Unfortunately, the space was blank. He was just about to delete the message when he heard Heero's voice, surprising him into jumping a good feet. Turning around, he fixed Heero with a evil glare while the Japanese boy stared, one eyebrow quirked.

'Jesus!' Duo cried, right hand pressed firmly to the area over his heart. 'You nearly gave me a heart attack.'

'It's a bit early in the morning for you to be jumping at everything isn't it Duo?' Heero asked, dropping his shoulder bag by the coffee table, catching sight of the spilled mess on the floor as he passed. He sent Duo a look, but Duo was not paying attention as he waved his arms around, bidding his friend come over. Heero walked over soon after, his face set in a question.

'I was just about to start on your mother's brilliant food.' He started, 'when some whacko calls me and leaves this weird ass message.'

'What do you mean by "weird ass message"?' Heero asked, staring at the answering machine. Duo pressed the play button, and there was silence for a moment before the high-pitched shriek rang throughout the house. The silence that followed it was deafening as Duo stared at Heero and Heero continued staring at the answering machine, a unreadable expression on his face.

'What do you reckon?' Duo asked after a while, breaking the silence.

'Sounds like some kind of creature.' Heero replied, face scrunched in a frown. 'But not any creature I know of. There is no caller ID?'

'Nope.' Duo shrugged. 'Perhaps it's some kind of childish prank. It is eleven on a Saturday, prime time for childish fun.'

'That's Friday and Saturday nights.' Heero corrected. 'This is strange…'

'Don't beat yourself up over it.' Duo sighed, already moving back to the lounge room to clean up his mess. Heero followed, although his face was thoughtful. Duo made a face as he stared at the mess on the carpet, this was going to take a lot of persuasion to get out. Heero walked off to the kitchen and returned with a rag and some cleaning agents, setting them on the coffee table as he bent down and helped Duo scoop up the now ruined meal and return it back to the bowl. Duo placed the bowl back on the coffee table when he was done, though he let his hand wander around on the table for a further moment to grab the bottle of Mr. Muscle Carpet Cleaner. Removing the cap, he squirted a liberal amount onto the carpet while Heero rubbed with the rag. Replacing the bottle on the table, Duo raced off to the kitchen to fill a squirt bottle with water, which he promptly dumped onto the carpet, where a nice amount of foam was forming. Heero continued rubbing gently, trying not to remove the carpet with the stain.

When the carpet finally fell into the "adequately-clean" for Heero (which meant that it was impossible to discern that there ever was a stain by the naked eye), the Japanese boy dumped off the cleaning supplies back in one of the kitchen cupboards, cleaned his hands several times (did Duo ever mention that this guy was paranoid) and returned with a second bowl of spaghetti. Duo accepted the food with childish approval, purposefully holding the fork in a primitive fashion while he ate. Heero increased the volume of the television by a bar while pulling his laptop out of his bag and starting it up. The news was now broadcasting the win of the German soccer team, and the riot that was currently breaking out in France for being defeated. Duo eyed the chaos in France with amusement while he wolfed down his breakfast, wondering if Howard would wander off to France just to watch the disorder unfold around him.

The phone rang twice before the answering machine came on. Duo placed his bowl down on the coffee table slowly, eyeing the machine warily over his shoulder. Heero's frantic typing stopped as well as he watched the answering machine, his eyes narrowed. Instead of some chaotic monster's screech however, Howard's voice came on, ranting about how he became the target of many pigeons' waste while visiting Trafalgar Square. Duo let out a sigh of relief as he marched over to pick up the phone while Heero resumed typing.

'Hi Howard.' He greeted tiredly. 'Europe treating you all right?'

'Duo, have you been listening to me at all?' Howard asked in exasperation. 'I just had one of my best suits destroyed thanks to a mass of birds who thought I looked like a mobile toilet.'

'Oh great fun.' Duo smirked. 'When will you be getting back?'

'That's actually why I'm calling you.' Howard's voice sounded apologetic. 'Things are getting a little chaotic over here, so I probably won't be back for about a month. Not that you care, but I thought you might like to know.'

'Another month eh?' Duo sighed. 'Yea sure, why not. Enjoy Europe and bring me back a souvenir.'

'Sure.' Howard's voice suddenly became serious. 'Take care of yourself, okay?'

'Don't I always?' Duo asked, although he had a feeling that was not what Howard was referring to. His uncle chuckled on the other end of the line, but repeated his message again before hanging up. Duo hung up also, but remained staring at the phone for ages, even after he had returned it back to the cradle.

'What's wrong?' Heero asked from the lounge, fingers never ceasing over his laptop keyboard. Duo walked back slowly, collapsing on the couch with a sigh.

'Howard was weird.' He answered, twiddling with hid thumbs for a moment. 'He told me to take care of myself.'

'What's unusual about that?' The Japanese boy beside him asked, although there was an audible retardation to his typing.

'Too serious.' Duo answered with a frown. 'Much too serious.'

'Perhaps you're thinking too much.' Heero shrugged, returning to typing at full speed.

'First time I've been accused of that.' Duo sighed, reaching over to grab his bowl of food. Heero snorted next to him, straight mouth twitching at the edges. Duo grinned, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

Still smirking, Duo began shoving large amounts of spaghetti into his mouth, meanwhile his violet eyes were fixed on the television. The news had switched to a report on a couple of girls who had died at a rock concert. Apparently, they had been trampled to death by a mob of excited teenagers, and had not aroused any suspicion from the crowd of five thousand because of the loudness of the music, the ruckus everyone had been making, and the density of people. However, both of the girls had also been discovered to have a set of bite wounds on their neck, right over their jugular. Doctors were currently in speculation about the exact cause of death. Duo already knew.

'Vampires.' He breathed, brow furrowing with distaste. 'The Sacreds are going to have a field day at this rate.'

'There seems to be a lot of vampric activity these days.' Heero conceded. 'Is there no order over the Vampire race?'

'Yea.' Duo gave Heero a dull stare. 'Don't feed openly or you'll be killed, or so Howard told me. Not that he recommends I drink blood at or, nor do I want to. I think I mentioned that vampires have classes? Well, Howard said that the highest class of vampires acts sort of like sentinels, and they punish stray vampires as harshly as the Sacreds and all the other Hunters, which is why Sacreds aren't supposed to attack high class vampires (but they do it a lot anyway). Technically speaking, vampires aren't supposed to just randomly suck blood, and when they do, I think Howard said something about concealing the bodies so that nobody finds it. It's to not arouse suspicion, even though half the world knows of vampires anyway. I suppose it's just to keep those who don't believe in vampires happy.'

'Then why are these vampires feeding so openly?' Heero asked curiously, stopping his typing entirely. Duo shrugged, looking defeated.

'Maybe they want to die? I've heard that it is very easy for other vampires to pick up vampric scent from dead corpses, especially the stronger vampires. So if a vampire goes and openly sucks the blood of another human and then leaves them for the cops to find, then all it really takes is one high class vampire at the scene, get a whiff of the scent, and then the vampire that sucked the blood is pretty much dead. All vampires are supposed to have a unique scent…Heero, what are you doing?'

'Trying to find your unique scent.' The blue-eyed boy was currently leaning over with his face barely an inch from Duo's neck, all the while making sniffing noises. Duo wondered how Heero could keep such a straight face when saying something so ridiculous, only to have that thought fly out the window when he felt Heero's nose brush his neck. A bubble of laughter burst out of his mouth, and he could feel Heero grinning in his own non-smiling way. Then the Japanese boy pulled away, face straight and eyes fixed firmly on his computer. 'You smell like spaghetti. Is that unique?'

'You suck 'Ro.' Duo grinned, finishing off the rest of his spaghetti.

* * *

Duo suspected that Saturdays were supposed to be interesting, but not his Saturdays, especially not that one. From the morning till afternoon, he lay on the couch, watching the news channel. Heero was silent next to him, speaking at random intervals, but for the most part playing the robot Duo sometimes thought he resembled more than the human he was supposed to be. The braided boy wondered dully just what his best friend was working on, but it was Heero after all. Even when they were young and had no idea what a laptop was, Heero had been rather secretive about things. They would spend hours drawing, and yet Heero would never show Duo what he drew. Duo did manage to convince him into showing his creation once, and had been astounded by a pretty and accurate picture of a bay at sunset. He could not remember it fully anymore, and what he did remember seemed corrupted by the times. Surely even Heero could not produce a duplicate of a picture complete with the glossy sheen of the water? He had been seven after all! Duo shook his head, his mind was definitely beginning to die on him.

A glance at the television told him that someone else had been shot. Big surprise, he thought with a sigh, everybody was getting shot these days. Later on, there were reports of several men in the neighborhood dying from various causes, including a few who had their hearts impaled by silver arrows. Duo frowned, unconventional methods of killing such as arrows, especially silver arrows usually meant either a lunatic or a vampire hunter. Howard had assured him that despite how biased Sacreds tend to be, they would not attack him unless he proved to be a danger, and the hunters that did attack him were most likely members of other factions pretending to be Sacreds, or just overly biased Sacreds with an inability to be patient. Duo frowned at the thought, knowing that he would be attacked, only most likely not by the people he thought, was really comforting.

'Would you like to have dinner at my place?' Heero asked when the digital clock on the wall displayed the time as seven-thirty. Duo grinned and nodded eagerly.

'Some of your mother's brilliant dinners would be most appreciated!'

'Good.' Heero switched off his laptop and tucked it back into its bag. 'Let's go then.'

It was still raining hard outside, as if the heavens were trying to flood the earth in a repeat of the mythical storm several millennia ago which purged the world of all evil. Duo told Heero as much, but the Japanese boy simply snorted, claiming that the storm would not work with modern technology: all the rich people would survive with their private ships, and a good portion of them are not particularly "good". The only thing such a flood would purge the world of were poor, homeless people without shelters of their own.

Mrs. Yuy greeted them when they arrived with a warm hug and the promise of a good dinner. Duo smiled, thanking her as Heero nodded his acknowledgement and proceeded upstairs towards his room. Duo gave Heero's mother an apologetic look before sprinting up the stairs after her son, hearing Mrs. Yuy's merry laughter ringing through the halls even as he ran down the first floor landing.

'That's not a very affectionate way to greet your mother.' Duo scolded as he entered Heero's room. The blue-eyed boy simply grunted, removing his laptop and setting it neatly on his desk. Duo watched with a bored expression from Heero bed as his friend continued with his usual routine, putting all his items back into an order he was most familiar with. Now that Duo thought about it, Heero's organization had barely changed over the years. Even though they had only been reunited for such a short time, Duo still knew where Heero kept all his painting materials, all his blank papers and notepads. Knew which drawer held Heero's socks, and which held Heero's journal and music box. It was something Heero would never tell him about, but he kept a music box which appeared so ridiculously girly Duo had no words for it. Still, the braided boy knew there was a story behind the toy, knew that there must be a reason as to why Heero kept it, even though he doubted that the Japanese boy would ever share it with him. Heero kept many secrets, Duo thought with a sad smile, so many secrets he wished the blue-eyed boy would share with him but knew he probably never would.

Duo shook his head quickly, he was thinking about unnecessary things again. A glance at Heero told him that the other boy was busy searching in his top drawer for something. The top drawer held Heero's art supplies, although he had not seen the other boy paint ever since their reunion. As expected, Heero pulled out a set of watercolor pencils and a piece of blank paper. Duo tilted his head in question, unsure why his firend suddenly felt like drawing when dinner was almost served. Heero did not offer any answers, but simply pulled up a chair and began drawing. Curious, Duo crept over and peered over his friend's shoulder, seeing what looked like the beginning of a meadow. Heero waved him off after a moment in a fashion that Duo was all familiar with. It seemed that some things never changed.

Sighing, he collapsed backwards on Heero's bed, all the while ranting about the creative piece he was going to write for literature. Heero did not offer any signs of listening, but Duo knew he heard him. Heero was always listening, always watching, even when he did not look like it. _Especially _when he did not look like it, Duo added to himself as an after thought. Heero was a born spy, amongst other things.

'Here.' Duo's eyes fluttered open, blinking quickly in an attempt to get used to te light. He had not realized he had fallen asleep, although according to Heero, that was a highly common occurance. He smiled after a moment, his brain still in the process of waking from the clutches of sleep. Heero merely shook his head in a hopeless way before dropping a piece of paper on Duo's stomach, all the while declaring sternly that dinner was ready. Duo yawned, pushing himself up awkwardly as his friend exited the room, slipping down the hall and stairs so quietly, Duo would not have realized how far Heero had gone, if not for Mrs. Yuy's warm greeting when her son entered the dining room. Duo smiled slightly, only noticing then that Heero had dropped the picture he had been working on from before. Looking at the picture, Duo felt his jaw drop open and his eyes widen.

Heero had drawn a picture of the valley from his dreams, complete with the lake and the little pier. Even though the picture encompassed a large area, Duo could still make out a small figure sitting on the pier, his legs dangling in the water, waiting…

Confusion hit him immediately, engulfing the shock quickly. Why had Heero drawn this? How did he know to begin with? Duo had dreamed it, and in the dream, the person sitting on the pier was him. Was it possible that Heero had come across this idea somewhere else? Either way, he was definitely going to ask his friend about it, supposing that he talked. Gently, Duo folded the picture and tucked it into his poket, before rolling out of Heero's bed and scrambling down the stairs.

Dinner was oriental, comprising of rice, a bowl of fish soup and five different dishes. Mrs. Yuy smiled when he dashed into the kitchen, nodding her head in the direction of his usual seat. Mr. Yuy was in the middle of a debate with his son, and promptly invited Duo to join them. They were apparently discussing about the current political system, although it appeared rather one-sided, since Heero's eyes were fixed firmly on his food and his attention devoted to eating. However, Duo did catch Heero's eyes darting over to his father then Duo before going back to his bowl on numerous occasions, and he did make calm statements every few minutes which always ended up stumping Duo and Mr. Yuy completely. It was a talent of Heero's that Duo had seen on few other people which fitted perfectly amongst Heero's nature: efficient and effective, and if perfect one-sentenced rebuttals did not fit those two descriptions, then Duo did not know what else did.

When they finished dinner, Heero offered to walk Duo home. The braided boy agreed, knowing that the Japanese boy would not hear a word otherwise. Mrs. Yuy smiled and offered Duo some more food in bags for "snacks when he got hungry". Somehow, despite his large apetite, Duo did not think he could consume four kilograms worth of pastry as snacks over the duration of twenty four hours, for he knew that when he came around again tomorrow, Mrs. Yuy would have finished cooking another batch of something which would be unsuccessfully loaded off on her husband and son. Some times, Duo really wondered where Heero's mother found all the time to cook, considering her own busy schedule. Perhaps efficiency was not just Heero, but an entire Yuy family trait.

It was still raining when they walked outside, which was rather surprising judging by how much rain had fallen over the past twenty hours. The street drainage system had overflowed, leaving the roads completely flooded. Most of the pedestrian street was under water as well, as was the front steps of most houses. Duo sighed, still holding his black umbrella over his head but finding little point to it since he was ankle-deep in water. Heero frowned as he walked, obviously irritated that his shoes were going to take days to dry, as well as doubting the hygene of the water he was wading through. Duo reminded Heero that he did not really need an escort, but Heero's only response was an expressive grunt which conveyed that he did not really mind the rain, just that his feet were now swimming in disease, but it was okay since it was Duo he was walking with, and while he was on that thought, Duo was an idiot for even suggesting he should leave. Duo snorted to himself. Efficient? Very.

They had not walked more than two hundred meters before the streetlamps died, followed immediately by the sound of some car smashing into a pole in shock. The nearby houses suddenly went dark as well, leaving the area in a state of utter darkness, especially with the thick clouds overhead that obscured everything. It was in times like those that Duo was glad he was a vampire, for he could still see everything clearly, although he was not so certain about Heero. Instinctively, he reached over and grabbed Heero's wrist, ensuring that the other boy did not wander off.

'When was the last time this area suffered a blackout?' He asked jokingly, before taking slow steps towards his house. Heero followed suit with brilliant coordination, despite the fact that he could not see a thing.

'Around a decade ago.' Heero replied stiffly.

'How much can you see?' Duo asked, just to be certain.

'Nothing.' Was Heero's response, his voice conveying his irritation at his own weakness. 'You?'

'I can still see fine.' Duo answered quickly. 'So don't worry, I'll get us home.'

However, barely a moment later, Duo saw the signs of unmistakable trouble walking towards them.

* * *

**Endnotes:**

Ah cliffhanger! Wow, now you guys are really going to be angry with me if I don't update huh? Well, I'll try my hardest to get the next chapter done soon. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that chapter. I think I might have exaggerated Heero's mother's Feeding Complex, but it does happen! Anyway, please review! Assassin loves feedback.


	6. Chapter Six

**Progress: **6 of a proposed two digit sum  
**General Notes: **I know, it's been ages since I last updated, and for that, I apologize. Unfortunately, things have been a little hectic with finals coming up and all that (I really shouldn't be writing that…finals begin in under two weeks). I just had my German oral exam last Friday, which turned out to be a lot faster than I thought it would be. I kind of regret being so nervous and not ranting enough, I had so much to say, and I didn't say it. My argument also got a bit repetitive because I was recycling material, but seriously, I would be damned if I tried to remember more of my detailed study than I did. I swear though, if I hear anything even vaguely resembling "das Verhältnis des Menschen zur Natur" or "die Loreley" and how she lures sailors to their deaths by bloody brushing her bloody blond hair, I'm going to freak.

Anyways, I hope you people enjoy this chapter! It's unbetaed, unfortunately, and I would do it, except I'm thinking I should do some maths before I arrive at the stupid exam room with nothing going through my head except Carmen. It'll probably be another while before I update again, considering finals, and then the titrations nationals competition (don't ask me how we qualified, all high on chocolate and drunk on air), but I'll update again ASAP!

As usual, you guys know the drill. Read and please review! I thank all the people who have been reviewing thus far! You guys rule!  
**Music: **Some German rock song by some guy I don't know; Superman – Five for Fighting; Unwell – Matchbox Twenty; Bent – Matchbox Twenty; Mockingbird – Eminem; Holding out for a Hero – Frou Frou; Clowns – TATU; Sign – Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Original Soundtrack; Another Inspiration – Chrono Cross Remix; Memories in the Rain – Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia (can't remember for the life of me what their seiyuus are); In the End – Linkin Park; Tomorrow – SR-71

* * *

**Aeternitas**

By Assassin, AKA Fishie

Chapter Six

'Somebody's coming.' Heero said quietly, surprising Duo. 'No…four.'

'Yea.' Duo gritted his teeth, watching with a sense of hopelessness. 'Puppets.'

Completely undeterred by the heavy rain, a group of four vampires zombies driven only by their hunger for blood and the possible order of their master, marched towards them awkwardly. It appeared that one of them had broken a leg, and two others sported broken arms. Duo suspected they were the trophies of their unsuccessful struggle back when their minds were still human, back when they still had minds.

'One of them is lame.' Heero murmured.

'Yea, and two others have broken arms.' Duo added, still wondering how Heero knew.

'Fight or flight?' From the way Heero was speaking, no one would have guessed that he and Duo were currently the targets of four vicious zombies.

'This is going to do wonders to my ego.' Duo muttered, tugging sharply on Heero's wrist. 'Run!'

They took off immediately, running as fast as they were able. Behind them, the vampires chased, splashing through the sidewalk. Duo was purposefully leading them in a circle, so that they could head back towards his house. Vampires just were not the sort of thing you brought to your friend's homes. Unfortunately, it did not look like they would get anywhere, for they had only just managed to get back to where they were before when the vampires caught up with them.

It was obvious who they were after, although Duo for the life of him could not understand why. Vampires generally left each other alone unless some horrible sin against the vampric laws was committed, and in his case, he had vandalized none. Hence, the vampires were after Heero. However, why four lackeys were being sent after one human was beyond Duo, save that he was the only human within the area who was outside. Duo decided that that had to be the reason, just as he was shoved roughly over. In an instant, dirty rain water filled his lungs, forcing him to choke as he climbed unsteadily back to his feet. Heero was doing pretty well on his own, throwing the vampires aside as best as he could blind. Duo leapt into the fray quickly, ripping another of the vampires away from his friend with a strength he did not know he had. Heero let out a growl as one of the vampires latched themselves to his neck, punching the creature in the face and breaking the bones there with a sickening crack. However, the vampire did not react. Now immune to pain, the vampire latched on, opening its mouth wide and revealing a set of white teeth and a particularly long pair of fangs. Duo quickly raced over, pushing his hand in between the vampire's mouth and Heero's neck just as it leant in for a bite.

Twin cries filled the night as Duo yelped, feeling the sharp teeth tearing through his hand, and the vampire screamed in pain. Apparently, vampire blood was highly poisonous to other vampires, the braided boy observed as he tried to shove the vampire away. Heero promptly broke the creature's arm, freeing himself and allowing Duo to push the zombie to the ground. The vampire thrashed, clawing at its face as it tried to scream despite being submerged in water. The other three vampires paid it no mind as they continued closing in, eyes shining with lust. Duo watched them with distaste, feeling his protectiveness over Heero increase. The Japanese boy in question narrowed his eyes, one hand fumbling in his pant pocket for something. The thought suddenly hit Duo, Heero was searching for his keys. He always had a pocket knife clipped there, insisting that it was for self defense should it ever come to that. At that moment, Duo could not think of a better circumstance for self defense.

One of the vampires leapt over quickly, lunging for Heero. Duo quickly pushed the Japanese boy out of the way, ending up half submerged in the over flooded street while the vampire held him down. Meanwhile, the two other remaining vampires lunged at Heero, tackling him onto a flooded lawn. The blue-eyed boy kicked one of them hard in the face, twisting its neck in a way that might have killed a normal person, but did nothing save leave the vampire attacking with its head fixed on an odd angle. The other vampire meanwhile clawed at his arms, holding them down while preparing for its feast. Heero let out a small cry as he pulled his legs in and caught the vampire in the chest, kicking it aside. The other vampire lunged quickly over, head fixed in a permanent one-eighty degree turn. Heero quickly flicked open his pocket knife, shoving the metal into the vampire's heart. The creature screeched, flinging backwards with Heero's knife still stuck in its breast. Heero pushed himself off the ground quickly, running straight into the shrieking vampire and ripping the knife from it. Blood gushed out from the wound in torrents before the creature collapsed, still twitching, to the ground.

Duo felt himself drowning slowly, and the urge to survive pulsed adrenaline through his veins. With a silent roar, he shoved the vampire off his chest, making full use of its broken arm. Air rushed back into his lungs immediately, broken only by Duo's own attempts at ridding the water from his throat. The other vampire, seeing Duo incapacitated, raced over and tackled an unprepared Heero to the sidewalk. Duo let out a yell, racing over and ripping the vampire off his friend with the help of Heero's own kick. The Japanese boy sat up quickly, breathing heavily and spitting water out of his mouth. Duo grabbed his knife just as the remaining two vampires came running over, slashing one of the vampires in the neck while clamping his bleeding hand across the open jaws of the other vampire. Both vampires cried, but only one fell. The other one, despite its bleeding neck, continued lunging towards them. At that moment, Heero seemed to decide that they had done quite enough, for he grabbed Duo by the wrist and ran as fast as he could after a brawl. The vampire tried to chase them, but collapsed after a few steps, its screams gurgling through the water.

Hearing the vampire fall behind them, Heero let out a sigh of relief while Duo followed suit, feeling as if he had drunk enough bad water in the past ten minutes to last a lifetime. In the distance, Duo heard electricity returning and the streetlamps springing on. Knowing that the consequences would not be pretty if some nosy neighbors happened to see them walking by, with clothes bloody, a knife dangling from one of his hands and four corpses behind them, Duo urged them into a run once again. Heero did not protest, although his footsteps were heavy and his movements not nearly as fluid as they usually were. Duo sensed that they were both injured, and come time when the endorphins finally wore off, they were both going to be in a fair bit of pain.

In all his life to date, Duo did not think he had ever been more grateful to finally reach home. It was by far his most dramatic entrance, which was why it was such a shame that Howard was not home to witness it. The back door was flung open, crashing into the wall and springing back, only to be pushed back by Duo's free hand as both he and Heero staggered inside. They marched into the lounge room as one after Duo locked the door behind them and turned on the lights, still supporting each other and trailing mud, blood and water all over the floor. With a sigh of relief, both of them collapsed on the floor before even reaching the couch.

'Now there's excitement…' Duo muttered, eyes staring unfocused at the ceiling. Heero gave one of his expression-filled grunts, his breathing still heavy.

It was as he was lying there that the first pangs of pain spread from his numb body. At once, Duo felt his bleeding hand hurting, as well as his wrists and chest. Luckily, nothing else appeared to be bleeding. A glance at Heero told a different story.

The Japanese boy had managed to pull himself up into a seating position with his back against the base of the couch. He was currently ripping off his already ripped shirt, exposing a bruised torso and multiple gashes running along his arms. His neck was badly bruised where one of the vampires had grabbed him, and his cheek was cut. He had not been bitten, but was spilling enough blood for an adequate meal. Duo felt guilty at not being able to protect his friend, but Heero, appearing to know what he was thinking, waved it off unconcernedly. Recovering his breath, Duo launched himself off the ground and scrambled into the bathroom to fetch a small basin, which he filled with cold water, a hand towel and the first aid kit. Heero greeted him with a nod when he returned, and insisted on bandaging Duo's palm first. The braided boy protested, but to no avail. Still frowning, he washed his hand quickly with a shred of bandage from the first-aid box, and wrapped it up in white material. Heero smiled slightly, satisfied, before letting Duo help him with his wounds.

What happened next almost proved to be Duo's fall.

He was leaning in to inspect the wounds on Heero's left arm when a foreign scent enveloped his senses. In all his life, he had never smelt anything so good, so unique, and so absolutely desirable. Without realizing, he leaned in towards the smell, the scent so sharp and vivid he could almost taste it. His eyes glazed over with desire as he searched for the source of the delicious smell, his mouth watering, his fangs growing…

'Duo?' Duo blinked, taken aback by the voice…Heero's voice. With a start, he realized that he was holding tightly to Heero's arm, his mouth barely an inch from a trickle of Heero's blood, currently streaming down his arms. He blinked again, surprised by what he appeared to be doing, what he was going to do. He was going to drink Heero's blood! His best friend's blood! Did he not say he did not need blood, did he not go through so many years of his life without blood? He was a vampire, but he did not drink blood, never felt even the slightest urge to drink the substance. But was that not what he was about to do?

'Sorry.' He said quickly, pulling away and reaching for the towel. Heero frowned slightly, but did not offer any other comments. Duo felt his own face heat up. What was wrong with him? But still, he could remember the smell from that moment, that undeniably beautiful scent that drove him into a moment of bloodlust for the first time in sixteen years. Unconsciously, Duo flicked his tongue at his fangs, noticing how unusually long and sharp they were. Sitting there now, wetting the towel and dragging it over Heero's arms, he did not feel or smell what he did a moment ago at all. So why had he fallen so deep into lust? Silently, Duo berated himself. Not drinking blood was his last defense, especially with Sacreds and other hunters closing in on the area, how could he even think of destroying that?

But then, as he helped Heero bandage his arm, the realization hit him. Perhaps that smell was what the other vampires had been smelling. That would explain why four converged on the one person at once! Heero's scent was definitely one which would drive any vampire into bloodlust, especially a group of wandering puppets searching for blood. Duo usually did not pay attention to scents, but dared to open himself slightly at that moment, just to confirm his own suspicions. He immediately smelt the stench of dead blood, and located the source to be his and Heero's clothes, but that smell was completely overwhelmed by the scent Heero was giving off. Almost immediately, he felt desire cloud his senses as that incredible scent surrounded him. By the time he finally managed to wrestle some sense into his mind and switch off the awareness, he had tackled Heero over and was leaning over the boy's neck, his fangs a mere millimeter from piercing the blue-eyed boy's skin.

Duo pushed himself away quickly, one hand over his mouth and his eyes wide with shock. Heero sat up slowly, his own eyes showing only a sliver of shock and fear. Considering it was Heero, the emotions meant a lot, which was why Duo was on the floor in an instant, apologizing profusely and hitting himself in the head. Heero scrambled over quickly, stopping Duo's self-punishment and intoning in a soft, gentle voice that Duo had heard only a few times in the past, that it was okay. The voice had a hypnotic quality to it which soothed away some of Duo's distress, while Heero slowly wrapped his arms around Duo's form, holding Duo tightly.

No words were necessary; Duo was forgiven, and from the way Heero held him, there had not been a moment when the blue-eyed boy had felt otherwise.

* * *

They were on the couch again, breakfast propped on the coffee table before them and the television turned on the news channel. Heero was highly curious as to whether there would be a report on the events of the previous night, except only the heavy rain and the blackout were mentioned. The four vampires had never been discovered apparently. Leaning back in Duo's couch with a slice of his mother's cake in his hands, Heero frowned, unsure whether the lack of discovery was a good thing. It meant that he and Duo were not going to be in any trouble, especially for supposedly killing four people. However, having vampires just randomly disappear brought unease to his mind. Perhaps it was the effect of being so militaristic for his younger life, but a dead person was only when their stone-cold corpse could be seen. Despite reassuring himself otherwise, a part of Heero's mind still insisted that the vampires were alive and very well. He sighed within his mind at the memory. Where had Quatre Winner the Vampire Slayer been last night when the actual vampires were around, Heero thought bitterly. Perhaps if the blond and the rest of his organization spent more time hunting down actual dangerous vampires instead of harmless individuals like Duo, then there would be fewer deaths.

Harmless individuals like Duo…Heero glanced over at the braided boy sitting next to him, currently with his breakfast sitting on his stomach and wolfing the food down like a starved man. It would have been a lie for him to say that he had not been frightened at all when Duo fell into bloodlust, or so he assumed. He had never seen Duo like that, never seen anyone like that. The glazed look in Duo's eyes, the hunger, and the elongated fangs…Heero had had such an image when Duo first told him he was a vampire, however, the actual concept of seeing Duo bent over him, hungry for blood, was more frightening than anything Heero had ever seen.

But Duo did not hurt him, just like he knew he would. Heero smiled in his mind. His fright the previous night was mostly due to shock, and slight disbelief. But he trusted Duo, possibly more than the other boy knew. He knew Duo would not hurt him, knew that what forced Duo onto him had been Duo's vampric instincts and not his conscious mind. Besides, Heero thought calmly, if Duo ever needed or wanted his blood, he would give it to him. Anything to keep the boy next to him happy.

Quatre Winner's face flickered unbidden across his mind again, and Heero scowled. On second thought, he may have to reconsider that previous line of thought. Quatre was after Duo, but Heero had the suspicion that he would not be allowed to do anything unless Duo drank his blood. After all, the Arabian Hunter appeared to have only bothered him in the past, and not Duo. If he was so bent on killing all vampires, then he would have at least tried to kill Duo. But he had not, and Heero knew that that was because the blond Hunter was not allowed to.

'TV sucks.' Duo muttered sleepily, changing the channel quickly while reaching for his breakfast and shoving some food into his mouth. Heero gave him a disapproving look, but the braided-boy ignored it as usual. Duo's eating habits were definitely not going to change any time soon. 'Stupid, crappy Sunday morning programs.'

'Or lack there of.' Heero shrugged. 'Change it back to World News.'

'Heero.' Duo turned to give Heero a most dry stare. 'We've been watching the news channel over and over and over and over and over every time we turned on the damn TV! But not this morning!'

'Duo…' Heero fixed his best friend with an equally dry look. 'You're watching Sesame Street.'

'Damn straight!' Duo grinned proudly. 'Oh lighten up,' he added when he saw Heero's unfazed expression. 'It may be a kiddy show, but at least it's better than watching more news.'

Heero was silent for a moment, giving Duo the impression that he had given up, before reaching over and tugging the remote out of Duo's lax grip. The braided boy gave him a most irritable look when he switched the channels again, but did not say anything more. Heero place the remote back on the coffee table when he was done with a warning air, cautioning Duo against changing the channel again if he knew what was good for him. He need not have bothered, for Duo's eyes were fixed firmly on the television screen, giving the electronic box his complete and undivided attention. Heero leaned back against the couch, letting a small frown cross his features as he realized what had captured Duo's attention.

It was a report on another two deaths at a nearby high school, although the victims this time were both boys. There would have been nothing terribly unusual about their deaths, had both of them not died at the same time in the same place, and at such a young age. They had both apparently fallen asleep near the benches just off the school oval, and never woke up again. The police were unable to explain the cause of death, while the only anomaly discovered was some slight hemorrhaging in both boys' ears. Apart from that, they were both perfectly healthy, and their expressions relaxed.

'It's a High Vampire.' Duo murmured after a moment, catching Heero's questioning look. 'There are a few ways to kill a vampire, and from there, one can tell who was behind it. A Sacred or Hunter would normally use weapons ranging from arrows to swords, with Sacred weapons more likely to contain a core of Holy Water and Hunters' silver. Mages, although they are rarer nowadays than black diamonds, summon the elements, but the type of element and strength of the attack all depends on the mage. However, a High Vampire kills by playing a special melody. The melody and instrument differs between High Vampires, however is always referred to as the Song of Death, and any vampire who hears it (aside from the one playing it), will instantly grow weary and fall asleep, never to wake up again.'

'The ear hemorrhaging tells you that it was the Vampire music which killed them?' Heero asked.

'Not only that.' Duo frowned. 'You probably won't see it, but there is a mark on their necks. It's a brand which claims their deaths as belonging to a specific High Vampire, a sort of warning to all other vampires in the area to be on their guard and watch what they're doing.'

'So those two violated the Vampric laws?' Heero asked, watching the TV with narrowed eyes. Duo nodded grimly.

'They're definitely responsible for some of the deaths we've been seeing on TV, but I doubt that they are the only ones.' Duo groaned. 'Damn, I definitely know why Howard told me to be careful now. This whole place is going to become a war zone soon!'

Heero watched Duo fret with worry, uncertain what he could do to help. Duo frowned, settling his breakfast down on the coffee table before grabbing his hair in desperation, looking more lost than Heero had ever seen him. After a moment's uncertainty, Heero reached over and grabbed Duo around the shoulder. The other boy stared at him in confusion for a moment before Heero dragged him over into a hug, wrapping his arms gently around Duo's body. The boy relaxed instantly, reaching around his friend and hugging him tight.

'It'll be all right Duo.' Heero murmured against Duo's hair. The braided boy nodded into his chest, muttering something along the lines of thank you. Heero smiled in his own, non-smiling away as he continued to hold onto his best friend. During times of distress, it was always good to have somebody to hold onto, he told himself, even if the words of comfort were fake and they both knew it.

* * *

**Endnotes:**

Not much I want to say. Random small slice of action scene and some Heero-Duo ness. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Assassin


	7. Chapter Seven

**Progress:**7 of something  
**General Notes: **Well shit folks! I'm so sorry you guys had to wait so long for this chapter! Things have been a little hectic in the past few years, with me graduating out of high school, and then all the bureaucracy that comes with college.

Anyway, enough of that.

Here is the next chapter in my long standing, incomplete GW fic. I'm on holiday right now, so hopefully I can work on it a bit more. You guys may notice a slight change in tone and writing style since I've gotten older and all. This chapter is actually something that has been sitting on my hard drive (or many rather, since my old laptop has since died a watery and painful death) for a while, but yes, after this, my writing style may change a little. But who cares right? Here's the chapter you guys have been waiting for. Hope it's up to your standards. As usual, read and reply and fuel my muse. Maybe you guys can kick it into gear and get me writing proper again!

**Music:**I'm like a bird – Nelly Furtado; Tristan and Yvaine – Stardust Original Soundtrack; Requiem for a Dream – Clint Mansel; Independent Love Song – Scarlet; The River – The Tea Party; Stranglehold – Ted Nugent; Back in Black – ACDC; Amie – Damien Rice

* * *

**Aeternitas**

By Assassin, AKA Fishie

Chapter Seven

The city remained in a state of constant cloudiness with showers at random intervals for the next two weeks. Duo complained about it being the work of some evil mage somewhere, and Heero was forced to agree, despite his lack of understanding on mages; there was just something highly unusual about the weather. Despite Duo's grumblings however, school did not end temporarily due to increment weather. Instead, all sport practices were canceled until further notice, and the entire student body spent was forced to spend their breaks indoors, overtaking the library, cafeteria and hall ways. It was rather amazing, Heero thought as he and Duo proceeded down the second floor corridor of the West Building, just how many students the school held. He had never stopped to pay attention to it before, but given that he had no choice but to notice the sheer school population now, it was quite remarkable. He never knew that Laconia High was so populated.

'We need to put signs up in the corridors.' Duo was growling as they plowed on through the crowds. 'Big, bright yellow signs with black writing stating the many vital rules on how to move within the corridors.'

'Such as?' Heero asked, stepping quickly to the right to avoid being hacked by a passing junior's many folders.

'Rule number one: one's belongings must not equal or exceed one's body mass.' Duo began, giving the boy that narrowly missed taking off a chunk of Heero's side a pointed look. 'Rule number two: the speed limit indoors is strictly three kilometers per hour, not fifty.' He quickly shoved Heero to the opposite side of the corridor just as three freshmen ran by, following their movements until they smashed into a girl chatting animatedly on her cell phone. The shriek that echoed around the corridor was loud enough to wake the dead, and Duo only gave them a look which stated quite plainly "and that's what happens without speed restrictions".

'Point.' Heero shrugged. 'But it's wet outside, and people have to exercise.'

'That's why we have a gym Heero.' Duo said condescendingly. The glare Heero sent him was enough to kill. 'Anyway, rule number three: there should be no overt shows of affection.' He nodded at a couple in the middle of a heavy, kissing moment in the middle of the corridor. 'I'm sure they can kiss each other easily well concealed in a broom cupboard somewhere and save me the pain of being an unwilling spectator.'

'You have never complained about it before.' Heero said thoughtfully. Duo gave him a pained stare.

'I've never been cooped up indoors for so long, and I have discovered that those make out sessions are rather hard to ignore when you see at least three couples do it walking down one corridor.'

Unfortunately for Duo, the weather did not get steadily better over time, but became infinitely worse. By the end of the second week, the rain had returned back to a state of constant pouring, and the streets swam once again as the drains overflowed. It was rather unusual that schools were not canceled despite the ongoing downpour, and despite whatever arguments the education board across the region had to say about it, the student population became increasingly agitated. Heero wondered dully, as they sat in chemistry class, just how much more of wading through the streets the students would take before they decided to start skipping class in favor of studying at home.

Next to him, Duo let out a yawn as he sat balanced on the back legs of his seat. Their chemistry teacher was late, which was unsurprising, but annoyed Heero to no end. With a slight frown, Heero reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out his PDA, turning it on to inspect his schedule for the day. He was supposed to meet Relena after school today, especially since he had not spoken to her in ages. Somehow though, he got the strong impression that Duo did not like Relena, and it seemed to bother Duo every time Heero went off to meet her. It was rather unusual though, Heero thought wryly, especially since it was coming from the person who always thought he should get a girlfriend.

From down the corridor outside, Heero could hear the telltale footsteps of his teacher's high-heeled shoes. There was another pair of footsteps following hers, which told him that she was walking with somebody else. Perhaps that was why she was late, Heero thought dully, switching off his PDA and tucking it back into his blazer pocket, what a surprise, his teacher had a legitimate reason for being late for once. However, it was not with his usual cool and disinterested stare that he usually fixed his teacher with when she entered, for the person following at her heels forced his hands to ball into fists and his eyes to narrow.

It was Quatre Winner.

* * *

Duo let his chair back into its normal position when he saw the teacher entering, not wanting to be told off for swinging on his chair again. He was slightly surprised by the boy following behind her who was obviously a new student, although they were rare during the middle of the term, but was not unheard of. Leaning inconspicuously out of his seat, Duo turned to ask Heero what his thoughts on getting a new student mid-term was, but was immediately rendered speechless by the look of pure shock and rage evident on his best friend's face. Despite being Heero's friend for so long, Duo could not help but recoil slightly for only a moment, completely baffled by the sudden display of emotion. For Heero to show so much hatred…he must really hate this Quatre character, the reason behind which Duo had the feeling he would not find out.

Turning his gaze back to the front of the class, Duo stared as Quatre bowed slightly, his mouth curved in a friendly greeting. The boy had short, blond hair, and his eyes were a pair of tranquil aquamarine, giving off the impression of innocence. Duo gave Heero another glance before diverting his attention back to the boy, then Heero again. He could not tell what it was that Heero was angry about, but Quatre Winner looked perfectly harmless.

Quatre was looking around the class now, that earnest smile still on his lips. When his eyes met with Duo's, his scanning of the classroom paused for a moment before resuming, landing on Heero. Duo watched the interaction with baited breath, and saw Quatre's smile widen while Heero's gaze became steadily deadlier. When Quatre finally abandoned his spot at the front of the class, he took the seat behind Duo, that kind smile ever present on his face. Duo offered him a smile back.

'I'm Quatre Winner.' Quatre introduced unnecessarily, holding out his right hand. Duo took it.

'Duo Maxwell.'

Heero's anger was now amazingly intense, and Duo saw the teacher shudder in the middle of writing up some notes on the board. A few students turned around to glance at Quatre in curiosity, but instantly turned away when they noticed the seething Heero, currently holding his pen so hard Duo was sure it would snap. Duo turned awkwardly back in his seat to look at Quatre, but the blond boy was watching Heero with an intense stare, his mouth no longer smiling.

To say that Duo Maxwell was lost would have been the understatement of the century.

The class proceeded at a most sluggish speed. With Heero fuming on his right and Quatre watching Heero fume with a most enigmatic smile, Duo could not have been more distracted. The entire classroom atmosphere heavy, and it appeared that Duo was not the only one affected. In the end, the teacher decided to end her lecture most abruptly, and quickly set them some work to do while she slipped out of class. A few of the boys were glancing over subtly, curious as to what was happening; and the girls stared unabashedly, muttering to each other and sending hurried text messages on their phones.

It was with much gratefulness on Duo's part when the bell finally rang, and class was dismissed.

Heero left immediately for his physics class, although not before giving Quatre a most venomous glare. The blond boy merely smiled, his aquamarine eyes showing only mild surprise. Duo was curious, but did not know whether it was his place to ask. Instead, he gathered his things and walked off to biology class, only to be called back in the halls by a slightly gasping Quatre.

'Do you happen to know where room 412 is?' Quatre asked, quickly juggling his belongings around to pull out a slightly wrinkled timetable.

'Yea.' Duo nodded. 'I have my class there now as well.'

'Cool.' Quatre smiled. 'You can help me then. I'm so terrible at biology, I don't know what inspired me to take it. Probably too many hospital dramas and _the World around Us_ documentaries.'

'Sure.' Duo answered agreeably. 'Although I'm not very good at it. Heero is much better, although why he's not taking the subject is beyond me.'

'Ah yes, Heero Yuy.' Quatre tucked his schedule away awkwardly in his blazer pocket while attempting to balance his stack of books in one hand. 'You're a good friend of his aren't you?'

'Yea.' Duo held the door open for Quatre as they entered the classroom. 'Heero is my best friend.'

'Slightly temperamental isn't he?'

'Only occasionally.' Duo answered weakly, sitting down at the back of the class. Quatre promptly took the seat next to him, setting his items around neatly on his desk. The teacher Mr. Newbold – who was a middle-aged man with brown hair and a Star Wars obsession – entered at that moment, greeting them all with a smile and a cheerful "good morning, young Jedi". Quatre quirked one eyebrow, and Duo shrugged, informing the new student quickly just how the teacher was going to end the class later. Quatre snickered softly, his big eyes showing his delight.

Duo could not understand how Heero could possibly be angry at somebody like him.

Fifty minutes later, Duo and Quatre emerged from biology class in a far lighter mood than when they left chemistry. Quatre was, once again, suffering from a fit of giggles, mostly because of the teacher's "may the force be with you" comment at the end of the class. Duo sighed, and reminded Quatre that he did tell him earlier, but the blond boy only continued chuckling, stopping in-between only to tell Duo that it was different hearing about it and actually hearing it.

As it turned out, Quatre's locker happened to be only two lockers down from Duo's. Duo promptly voiced his confusion as to where the guy who used to have his locker there went, but Quatre merely shrugged, offering Duo with a brief "the number is the one on my paper". Heero arrived not long after, deep in conversation with the cheerleader Relena Peacecraft. Duo felt a moment's irritation, but promptly crushed it. It was not his place to worry about who Heero associated with, and things were all the better if the Japanese boy finally found himself a girlfriend.

Heero looked up when he neared Duo's locker, pausing for only a moment to give Quatre his most fierce glare. Relena frowned, breaking off mid-sentence. She followed Heero's gaze, finally settling her blue eyes on Quatre. Quatre only smiled, his expression mild. Heero's eyes narrowed, and Relena's mouth tightened into a straight line. Glancing over, she saw Duo, who was standing in the middle and feeling particularly left out.

'Hello there.' She smiled, breeching the distance between them and holding out her hand. 'You must be Duo Maxwell.'

'Yes.' Duo answered stiffly, taking her hand for as short a period as possible without being rude.

'Relena Peacecraft.' She introduced. 'Heero's told me a lot about you.'

'Has he now.' Duo could not think of anything else to say.

'And you must be the new boy.' Relena said brightly, extending her hand to Quatre.

'Quatre Winner.' Quatre said charmingly, taking her hand and kissing it on the back.

'Relena Peacecraft.' Relena said again, her face set in a brilliant smile, although Duo could see the coldness that quickly clouded her eyes. Quatre did not seem to notice, or ignored it if he did. There was a moment's silence before Relena announced that she had club meetings to attend to. Duo nodded once and Quatre offered his dismay that she could not stay for longer, something which caused Relena to give him a most steely smile before turning and leaving. However, Duo did not miss it when she passed Heero and clutched his hand for a moment before continuing on her way.

An uncomfortable silence fell then, and Duo found himself torn and completely lost. Heero was still glaring, and Quatre was still staring back with that calm smile. Finally, the Japanese boy snapped, and Duo watched with shock as he marched over and grabbed Quatre firmly by the shoulder. An unspoken agreement passed between them, and Duo found he lost once again as the two marched off quickly.

This was turning out to be a really bad day.

* * *

'What the hell are you doing here?' Heero hissed, his grip tightening around Quatre's shoulder as they marched into an uninhabited corridor. Once there, the blond boy immediately dropped his calm façade, his aquamarine eyes becoming instantly cold.

'Protecting your ass.' Quatre hissed back, shaking his shoulder angrily to dislodge Heero's grip.

'I don't need protection.' Heero growled back. 'Duo is not dangerous! How many times must I tell you that?'

'I know that he lusted after your blood Heero.' Quatre replied softly, his eyes suddenly weary. 'Why do you still protect him when you know the damage he could do?'

'Because I trust him!'

'And I don't.' Quatre spat venomously. 'Listen carefully Heero Yuy, you have not seen even half of what I've seen, so stop acting like a sentimental fool and realize that there is a beast in your midst and it's going to kill people.'

'Duo hasn't killed anybody.' Heero snapped.

'_Yet!_' Quatre added furiously. 'You've seen him desiring blood and it frightened you, I know it. Imagine that but several times more intense, and that's what true bloodlust is like. When Maxwell sinks into that, do you honestly think that his main priorities would be protecting the lives of the people around him? He wouldn't give a damn Heero!'

'You don't know Duo.' Heero slammed Quatre into the wall behind him. 'You don't know Duo like I do, and you don't know me either. Just because you may have killed vampires before does not make you an expert on all vampires. I've told you before: Duo is not like them!'

'You don't know that!' Quatre sighed. 'Heero, I don't want to argue with you. I have a job to do, and you seem to have made one for yourself, so let me give you a tip. Don't let him drink any human blood.'

'I wasn't planning to.'

'You would let him suck you dry if he asked!' Quatre muttered, exasperated. 'Heero, I like you. You're a good person, and you're smart, and although it's against my morals to do this, I will help you protect him. So I'll tell you this now: if you ever let him drink even a drop of human blood, not even the strongest armies would be able to defend him from death.'

'You're referring to those High Vampires aren't you?' Heero asked quietly, eyes narrowed.

'He's told you about them then.' Quatre pushed Heero's hand away, massaging his shoulders. 'Well then, yes I am. They would become the biggest threat to your pet if he does something stupid.'

'Duo isn't my pet!' Heero barked angrily.

'But there are others.' Quatre continued, pointedly ignoring Heero's outburst. 'I daresay you've seen the various deaths on TV over the past while? This town is getting a bit too active, and although I have yet to discover the reason for it, you should be more careful. The Sacreds High Council is holding yet another meeting soon, and I have a feeling it's not going to be beneficial for your vampire friend. A lot of Hunters has gathered as well, and their motto is: kill first, ask questions later. A lot of mages has been gathering as well, and I've heard that a few Senders are on their way.'

'Senders?' Heero asked, flinching slightly. 'What are those?'

'Sorcerers who have perfected the art of sending souls to the Other World.' Quatre explained, straightening his tie. 'They are generally of no importance to us, because the work with a completely different medium to us Sacreds. However, the fact that more than one is coming disconcerts me. I wonder if there is a strong spirit somewhere in this town…'

'I don't understand.'

'You don't need to.' Quatre muttered distractedly. 'Just keep an eye on your pet if you want it to stay alive. I won't kill him, but don't expect me to do anything else.'

'I don't expect you to.' Heero mumbled, watching Quatre walk off. 'And don't call him "pet".'

* * *

Quatre Winner sped up his pace as soon as he was out of Heero's line of sight, anxious to get to a bathroom quick. Fortunately, he located one only two corridors down. After a quick glance around to check that the Japanese boy had not been following him, Quatre entered, locking himself quickly into a cubical before removing his blazer and shirt. A glance at his shoulder showed him that the injury was about as bad as it felt, and a mere brushing of his hand over the bruised area caused his body to flinch. Heero Yuy was strong, Quatre thought, hissing as he checked his shoulder for breaks or fractures. The guy almost broke his shoulder and didn't even break a sweat, Quatre cursed, slipping his shirt back on after confirming that his shoulder was going to be all right.

Even if Heero was a mortal without sanity, he was definitely going to give anybody who tried to hurt Maxwell a run for their money.


End file.
